Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Abstract

This paper was published by Nova Alexandria in 2001 as an introductory text to the translation in Portuguese o f Madame Bovary. The notes included in the publication and the translation itself were made by this author. It recovers the trajectory of Gustave Flaubert up to the publication of Madame Bovary in 1857. Nuances found in Flaubert’s text are presented as a way to characterize it as the first modern novel. In fact, the work represents a breakthrough in the way of writing a novel and from that point on, the novel is not anymore a mere story, but it is above all style. Keywords: Madame Bovary. Gustave Flaubert. Novel. Realism. French Literature.