Madame Bovary, Ch. 6-9

1. infallible (page 62) : incapable of error

2. In this section, we learn a lot about Emma. Chapter six starts off telling about how Emma was reminiscing on her life in the convent, and how she used that time to grieve about her mother's death. She soon got bored of this and went to live with her father but she soon got tired of this too. Then she met Charles and by marrying him she was hoping that he could give her the life that she read about in books. She is constantly daydreaming of having a life of money and therefore, bliss. Her dream to have this life becomes more prevalent when the Bovarys are invited to a ball at Marquis d'Andervilliers' home and Emma sees the way that they live and suddenly becomes angry at Charles for being a bad dancer, and ultimately for not being able to give her that life.

3. One of the major themes in this novel is the inadequacy of language. This is shown on page 60 where it says, " She might have wanted to confide all these things to someone. But how do you describe an intangible uneasiness that changes shape like a cloud and blows about like the wind? Words failed her-- as well as the opportunity and the courage." Emma wants to tell Charles that she does not feel a passion or a happiness in their relationship. She also wants to tell him how she longs to live the life of a rich person and that she is embarassed by the fact that he is ill-mannered and rather clumsy. She is lacking the ability to tell him how she feels because she is afraid that her words will convey the opposite of what she means. Because of the fact that language is inadequate in this section, Emma is unable to tell Charles the things that she needs to in order to feel better. I believe that her inability to communicate with Charles causes her great distress and will only cause trouble in the long run.

4. a) How can Charles not see that Emma is clearly not in love with him and that she wishes she was married to a man more like one that she met at the ball? Or does he see it and he chooses to ignore it because he loves her so much, and only wants to be with her?

b) Page 63 reads, " She would ask herself if there might not be a way, by other combinations of fate, to meet some other man, and she tried to imagine what these unrealized events, this different life, this husband she did not know, would be like. None of them resembled her present husband." Is Emma trapped in this life with Charles, and her desire to live this life of luxury unattainable?

c) Along the same lines as my previous question, does Emma feel that she stumbled upon this life with Charles by mistake and she's not supposed to be with him? Does she think that she is of a higher social status and deserves better?