Infidelity in Madame Bovary

Emma surrenders herself entirely to her lover, Rodolphe in a way that she cannot to her attentive and well meaning husband, Charles. In her book Female Perversions, Dr Louise J. Kaplan describes this transgression of “extreme submissiveness” as a “search for meaning in [Emma’s] own life”. She seems to want to escape the life she has built with Charles and live a more extravagant (and therefore supposedly more fulfilling) life with Rodolphe.

Emma’s vain nature reveals to the reader a longing to be desired by men though not in the manner that Charles offers her as Emma craves the Romantic clichés of love and detests mediocrity. Charles’ adoration for Emma is clear from the beginning of the novel: “the image of Emma kept… appearing before his eyes…” This understated, impassionate level of affection isn’t enough for Emma’s seemingly greedy character and her lover Rodolphe tells her what she longs to hear. Melodramatic declarations of love seem to appeal to Emma.

Adultery in Madame Bovary seems to stem from Emma’s own personal weaknesses for Romance and adoration. It is Emma who craves a more exciting and fulfilling life and none of her adulterous exploits result in this becoming a reality. Flaubert’s novel therefore shows that adultery is an attempt to fill a void that marriage creates.