Emma seriously needs to grow up a bit.
Perhaps she got married too young, but this girl keeps yearning for some far-away land where she can run to the arms of her Prince Charming.
Reality bites.
Get with it.
She doesn't even give Charles a chance to prove himself. Every little fault is condemned with the utmost contempt, "He couldn't swim or fence or fire a pistol; one day he couldn't tell her the meaning of a riding term she had come upon in a novel. Wasn't it a man's role, though, to know everything?" (Flaubert, 46).
Earth to Emma! Charles saves lives! Yeah, he's a mediocre doctor, but she doesn't know that. As far as she knows, he races to the rescue of every peasant and Duke, curing their ailments, and having them owe him their lives.
And it's so sweet but sad the puppy love that Charles obviously experiences but is so blatantly overlooked, "Charles enjoyed nothing more than standing beside her watching her bent over her sketchbook - As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew the more he marvled" (Flaubert, 46).
All of his efforts and his affections are completely ignored. If Charles doesn't spoil Emma's fancy, what will?
It is written that Emma tries to induce a spark of love, but in vain, "Even as they were brought closer together by the details of daily life, she was separated from him by a growing sense of inward detachment," (Flaubert, 46), and "His transports had become regularized; he embraced her only at certain times. This had now become a habit like any other" (Flaubert, 49).
Yes, this lack of passion would cause one to fantasize of a more romantic relationship, but I also think that this is what every married couple suffers from. This is not a unique situation.
We find that domesticity suits Emma very well though. At least she has that to offer.
She is clean and organized, qualities that actually promote Charles' business. His mother, on the other hand, does not suit Emma at all. The two suffer one another with civility but there is a tense loathing exuded from both toward the other.
It's apparent that Emma is the apple of Charles' eye, but his attachment is unrequited. Emma, though efficient as a housewife, requires more satisfaction from her marriage than, let's face it, is deserved.
She fails to see that relationships must be built and worked on continually. What did she expect when she married a complete stranger? It was stated earlier that, even as a young girl, Emma required immediate gratification from her efforts and if she didn't receive it, she quickly bored of the subject. This is not bearing well in her marriage at all.
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