Symbolism in Madame Bovary. By: Gustave Flaubert

<Tab/>In the novel Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert displays through the use of symbolism the moral corruption that eventually consumes Emma's being. Flaubert uses a combination of characters and objects to illustrate her impending downfall. At a young age, she harbors idealistic romantic illusions, longs for sophistication, sensuality, and passion, and descends into fits of extreme boredom and depression when her life fails to match the romantic novels she treasures. &…

…wife, her spirit becomes foul and corrupt as she indulges herself in adulterous temptations and the deceptions necessary to maintain her illicit affairs. Later, when Emma dies, the blind man gets to the end of his song about a young girl dreaming. We then discover that what we thought was a song about an innocent woman is actually a vulgar, sexual song. This progression from innocence to sexual degradation mirrors the path of Emma's life.