Madame Bovary

Madame Bovary Summary | Part 1: Chapter 1 Summary

When a new student rouses his classmates from their slumber, the students immediately see him as a misfit. He is characterized by his clothes and his manners as one who strives to, but does not fit into the upper bourgeois of his classmates. He nervously gives his name as Charles Bovary, and the reader is introduced to one of the principal characters of the novel.

Charles is a diligent student who is not very quick-witted and does not seem to possess any natural talents. It is only through hard work that he maintains his position at the middle of his class. It becomes evident that the only way Bovary will ever achieve anything is through perseverance and not through his natural talents.

Charles' father, Charles Denis Bartholome Bovary, is a former Army surgeon who was dismissed from his post after a controversy involving prescriptions. After his dismissal, he searched for a life of leisure as a farmer, but he quickly discovered that he could not make a fortune farming. He also developed a taste for liquor and women. He finally settled on marrying for the source of income, but he quickly went through his wife's dowry. Charles' mother had loved his father in the beginning of their marriage. With age, she soured toward him and grew tired of his wandering eye and drunkenness. Overtime she became bitter.

After Charles was born, his mother and father disagreed on his rearing and education, but they both spoiled him. He was the center of his mother's attention, and his father let him roam like a wild animal. He also was strict with young Charles—sending him to bed with no fire, teaching him to drink, and to ridicule religious processions.

When Charles was twelve, his mother finally prevailed, and he began taking lessons with the local priest. The priest was very busy and had very little time for lessons. It was decided that after his first communion he would be sent off to school. Before he finished his education, his parents took him out of school and placed him in a baccalaureate program in Rouen. He had a difficult time understanding his courses and quickly fell into a life of leisure. He began skipping lectures and frequenting the bars. Because of his lackadaisical attitude, he failed his final exam. His mother understood, and she arranged for him to retake the test. He crammed for the exam and finally passed.

His mother finds him a position in Tostes where the former doctor just died. She, not satisfied with him having only this position, seeks a wife for him. She settles on Madame Dubuc, a widow with a reasonable income. Although Madame Dubuc is described as ugly and drab, the elder Madame Bovary has to put in a considerable effort to win her over. Once she and Charles are married, she craves his every attention and constantly is worried about what he is doing and if he thinks about her. She always asks for a new tonic and for him to love her more.