Madame Bovary

I watched the film, Madame Bovary, today. I read the book, by Flaubert, many years ago, when in my teens, in fact when I was 18 years old. The story has never failed to interest me and indeed the text itself, when deconstructed, is an interesting critique about women's position in French society, emotional needs as woman, insatiable appetites of Emma Bovary and in the final, although she gave her soul and heart to the lovers she met, they were unable to save her from herself, in the end; reputation for them to keep, financially broken, etc.. Her husband was a practical man, deeply in love with her, but this wasn't enough for Emma, she craved a different sort of love; passion, poetry, desire, romanticism, escapism..

When she most needs help from the men who have been lovers and indeed, who she gave herself to, they couldn't and indeed chose not to help her. This resulted in her taking Arsenic as a means of suicide.

A tragic story, a sad tale of love and its woes, the lengths people go to to find a little piece of happiness and specialness in their lives and in many ways, a moral reminder in many ways about the 'Grass is always Greener' scenario...

In part of the film/text, it discusses Emma's desire for Leon and her counting the days to seeing him and indeed when she had seen him, her world felt dark, cold, sad, lonely, after she'd left him..such a truism is that when one leaves a loved one and misses them so.

I love novels like this and indeed films like this too. It reminds me that humans have felt depth, desire and passion for eons and that we all suffer theses feelings at some points in our lives..it also reminds me that humans crave such a deep love that often seems an impossibilty to live this love..but also a deep pain when one is away from their lover/loved one.

I prefer the relationship Emma has with Leon though, it seemed so much more innocent and genuine with an energy that was there from the start rather than forced...
I thought about Beloved whilst watching this film, I thought about him when I was out last night, I wondered what he was doing, who he was with, his girlfriend I guessed..I hope he's well, I hope he's happy; Not a day, or for that matter an hour goes by, without holding him in my heart, or indeed my thoughts..