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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Part 1, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Emma's Eyes:
The novel pays great attention to Emma’s eyes; however, often the descriptions of her eyes contradict each other, particularly concerning her eye color, which draws attention to the motif. Flaubert uses the motif of Emma’s eyes to reflect Emma’s changing ambitions and character. The first mention of Emma’s eyes is in Part 1, Chapter 2 when she first meets Charles:
If she were beautiful, it was in her eyes; though they were brown, they seemed to be black because of the lashes, and they met your gaze openly, with an artless candour.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Gender:
Throughout the novel, Emma is shown with masculine appearance markers or as taking on a masculine role in her relationships, despite many of the characters viewing her as a paradigm of femininity. For example, in her earliest depiction (when she meets Charles in Part 1, Chapter 2), Emma wears masculine apparel:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She had, like a man, tucked into the front of her bodice, a tortoiseshell lorgnon.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Emma's Eyes:
The novel pays great attention to Emma’s eyes; however, often the descriptions of her eyes contradict each other, particularly concerning her eye color, which draws attention to the motif. Flaubert uses the motif of Emma’s eyes to reflect Emma’s changing ambitions and character. The first mention of Emma’s eyes is in Part 1, Chapter 2 when she first meets Charles:
Unlock with LitCharts A+If she were beautiful, it was in her eyes; though they were brown, they seemed to be black because of the lashes, and they met your gaze openly, with an artless candour.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Emma's Eyes:
The novel pays great attention to Emma’s eyes; however, often the descriptions of her eyes contradict each other, particularly concerning her eye color, which draws attention to the motif. Flaubert uses the motif of Emma’s eyes to reflect Emma’s changing ambitions and character. The first mention of Emma’s eyes is in Part 1, Chapter 2 when she first meets Charles:
Unlock with LitCharts A+If she were beautiful, it was in her eyes; though they were brown, they seemed to be black because of the lashes, and they met your gaze openly, with an artless candour.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Flowers:
The novel often uses its setting to reflect the mood of a scene, with flowers being a consistent motif. Flowers are used to externalize Emma’s feelings or the state of her love life, which she is not always forthright about to those around her. The comparison between Emma and flowers is established directly in Part 2, Chapter 12:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Her cravings, her sorrows, her experience of pleasure and her still-fresh illusions had brought her gradually to readiness, like flowers that have manure, rain, wind and sun, and she was blossoming at last in the splendour of her being.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Emma's Eyes:
The novel pays great attention to Emma’s eyes; however, often the descriptions of her eyes contradict each other, particularly concerning her eye color, which draws attention to the motif. Flaubert uses the motif of Emma’s eyes to reflect Emma’s changing ambitions and character. The first mention of Emma’s eyes is in Part 1, Chapter 2 when she first meets Charles:
Unlock with LitCharts A+If she were beautiful, it was in her eyes; though they were brown, they seemed to be black because of the lashes, and they met your gaze openly, with an artless candour.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Flowers:
The novel often uses its setting to reflect the mood of a scene, with flowers being a consistent motif. Flowers are used to externalize Emma’s feelings or the state of her love life, which she is not always forthright about to those around her. The comparison between Emma and flowers is established directly in Part 2, Chapter 12:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Her cravings, her sorrows, her experience of pleasure and her still-fresh illusions had brought her gradually to readiness, like flowers that have manure, rain, wind and sun, and she was blossoming at last in the splendour of her being.
Related Themes:
Part 3, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Latin:
Madame Bovary uses Latin, particularly through Homais, to demonstrate how the bourgeois employ useless class signifiers to assert superiority over the lower classes or raise their status. Homais wields Latin as a power move without the words themself being very meaningful in the situation. He often uses unnecessary Latin or medical phrases within his speech to appear smarter than he is to impress important men. For example, in Part 3, Chapter 8, when offering the famous doctor Monsieur Larivière sugar for his coffee, Homais says,
Unlock with LitCharts A+– Saccharum, doctor?
Related Themes:
Part 3, Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Gender:
Throughout the novel, Emma is shown with masculine appearance markers or as taking on a masculine role in her relationships, despite many of the characters viewing her as a paradigm of femininity. For example, in her earliest depiction (when she meets Charles in Part 1, Chapter 2), Emma wears masculine apparel:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She had, like a man, tucked into the front of her bodice, a tortoiseshell lorgnon.
Related Themes:
Part 3, Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Gender:
Throughout the novel, Emma is shown with masculine appearance markers or as taking on a masculine role in her relationships, despite many of the characters viewing her as a paradigm of femininity. For example, in her earliest depiction (when she meets Charles in Part 1, Chapter 2), Emma wears masculine apparel:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She had, like a man, tucked into the front of her bodice, a tortoiseshell lorgnon.
Related Themes:
Part 3, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Latin:
Madame Bovary uses Latin, particularly through Homais, to demonstrate how the bourgeois employ useless class signifiers to assert superiority over the lower classes or raise their status. Homais wields Latin as a power move without the words themself being very meaningful in the situation. He often uses unnecessary Latin or medical phrases within his speech to appear smarter than he is to impress important men. For example, in Part 3, Chapter 8, when offering the famous doctor Monsieur Larivière sugar for his coffee, Homais says,
Unlock with LitCharts A+– Saccharum, doctor?
Related Themes:
