Monday, June 7, 2010

Madame Bovary: C'est Toi?

I am rereading Madame Bovary at the moment, and am always struck by how much Flaubert "gets" Emma, even as he critiques her.  (Madame Bovary: c'est lui, I know.)

Someone else who "got" Emma is Isabelle Huppert, pictured here in the title role. 

Although Flaubert's novel was a denunciation, in part, of the bourgeois attention to materialism, director Claude Chabrol knows how to implicate his audience in Emma's yearnings, as he photographs her beautifully in her increasing levels of finery.

3 comments:

Belle de Ville said...

I loved the book and the Isabelle Hubbert film. Still, while Flaubert may "get' Emma, her certainly trashes her and her class roundly.

Maggie May said...

and such a romantic photo...

Dash said...

I have been meaning to read this book for a long time, you have reminded me to add it to my wish list. Then I will have to see the Claude Chabrol film, it looks visually stunning.
XX