Emma’s husband, a kind and peaceful country doctor whose main joys in life are his wife, his daughter, and a hearty meal. After an unhappy marriage to Mamade Dubuc, Charles is overjoyed to be married to the beautiful Emma, whose every movement, word, and flounce enchants him. Charles is not attractive, charming, or brilliant, though he is for the most part a competent doctor. He has endless patience for his difficult, mean wife, and he is both mother and father to their daughter Berthe. He has a rough, dull exterior, and he is not very good with words, but he is delicate and his selflessness is morally beautiful. He turns a blind eye to Emma’s affairs and violent temper throughout the book. When he discovers her trove of love letters after her death, he dies of shock.
Charles Bovary Quotes in Madame Bovary
The Madame Bovary quotes below are all either spoken by Charles Bovary or refer to Charles Bovary. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1, Chapter 5
Quotes
The universe, for him, did not extend beyond the silken round of her skirts.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 7
Quotes
Charles’s conversation was as flat as any pavement, everyone’s ideas trudging along it in their weekday clothes, rousing no emotion, no laughter, no reverie.
Get the entire Madame Bovary LitChart as a printable PDF.
Charles Bovary Quotes in Madame Bovary
The Madame Bovary quotes below are all either spoken by Charles Bovary or refer to Charles Bovary. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1, Chapter 5
Quotes
The universe, for him, did not extend beyond the silken round of her skirts.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 7
Quotes
Charles’s conversation was as flat as any pavement, everyone’s ideas trudging along it in their weekday clothes, rousing no emotion, no laughter, no reverie.