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Essay / Multiple layers and interpretations of the Agricultural Fair scene
The literary scene of the Agricultural Fair is part of cinema. The set piece is a linear pan-optic of images and events, the unity of which is ensured by the magic of editing. Flaubert, as cameraman, moves in blur, straining to capture important tension of dialogue and moving to capture the entirety of the surrounding spectacle. As is the case in cinema, the context arises from a clever sequencing of disparate images and actions, which are then transformed into a convergent whole by the links that the reader establishes between the images. The descriptive power and copy-paste movement of Flaubert's Agricultural Fair glues all the disparate characters and dialogue into a neat super-organism of hypocrisy and provincial seduction. The set piece is an exercise in grotesquery; meaning that what appears funny on our first reading, seems tragic on our rereading, and then, in a third, more in-depth reading, is downright horrific. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Flaubert's description of the Fair succeeds in compressing all the characters of Yonville-l'Abbaye into the manifest character of a single political body. The thick description of the gathered townspeople (and their livestock) gels to create a congruent density of scent, sense, and color. The mass of “flabby, tanned faces” of the crowd is presented without more distinction or detail than the rumps of the cattle. On each corner of the courthouse is a flag commemorating “agriculture,” “commerce,” “industry.” " and "Fine Arts", in a garish presentation of civic dignity, what today we would call "Rotarian". Embodied in this image from the four corners of every courthouse, the idea of an agrarian utopia , which recalls the woodcuts of the 19th century, where the farmer leans against his ox-plow and reads a copy of Harper's. Industry barely fits into Yonville's spectrum, and the Fine Arts are one. pure joke, taken to the absurd extreme with "Commerce" and "Agriculture" represents an alien and desperate effort --- an attempt to celebrate a city that is in every way banal and even horrible. This is a simple image of the province, which would essentially make Emma and Rodolphe almost innocent for having tried to escape it through an affair. Yonville itself is a model of self-limited provincial nastiness and imposed conformism. trying to present itself at its best, the city reveals itself at its worst. The pomp, ceremony and patriotism celebrated there leave a thin shadow over the feeling of conscious inadequacy which pervades the event. Binet exercises his local firefighters against the National Guard brigade, out of competition and out of spite. Later, Tuvache, the mayor, recoils as if stung when a prefect advisor presents himself in place of the prefect himself. The crowd listens attentively to the words of the councilor, who manages to define a particular type of rural “intelligence” which is difficult to distinguish from blind patriotism and good ignorance. passionately aspires to scientifically increase crop yield through the in-depth study of manure. The case in the provinces is that there are stupid people who pretend to be intelligent (which is acceptable, because everyone knows that Homais is boring, by the way), and conversely, intelligent people, like Rodolphe, who are looked down upon for putting on airs and not acting stupidly. By this variation, the ideas of rustic virtue and modesty celebrated at the fair are self-limiting restrictions intended to protectthe city dwellers' precarious confidences of the frightening potential of individuals who might be remarkable and might one day stand out. just are a spiral torus through which the primary action, the seduction of Emma by Rodolphe, launches through the center like a shuttle through the frame. Together they navigate the chaos, buoyed by a sense of intact sanctity. With their own sophistication, Charles and Rodolphe are allowed to walk through the fair, dissociated, at least in their minds, from the provincial fecundity around them. They deftly avoid Lhéreux's annoying attempts to intrude on their conversation. As they walk through the show, they complain to each other about "the mediocrity of provincial life" and the dire lack of people who don't recognize the cut of a good coat. They watch the councilor's speech from the elevated and private position of the second floor council chamber, observing the processes with the observant withdrawal of the dreamers at play. While the bourgeoisie and farmers listen to the speech below, speechless, as if eating words, Emma is also absorbed by Rodolphe's intimate diatribe on love, freedom and passion. or the “wickedness” could be attributed to characters existing in the relative vagueness of Flaubert’s naturalistic world. Madame Bovary addresses the fragility of the best and most sincere human intentions. The theme is established from the beginning of the book when the young Charles Bovary tries, without success, to pronounce his own name: “Charovari! Charovari! to ridicule and punishment from his classmates and teacher. What's wrong in this case? Is Charles not able to pronounce his name, or is the class making fun of him for not being able to do so? Likewise, in the interweaving of the mutual seduction of Emma and Rodolphe in the ridiculous atmosphere of the Agricultural Fair, we do not know whether to criticize Emma's weak integrity or to pity her for her despair. of his situation. political chatter from council members. The interwoven juxtaposition creates a strange synchronicity between the two speeches, and both are seductions in their own way. For Emma, the speeches are representative of the two lives she can choose: a country woman or a mistress. Commerce and the arts flourish everywhere; everywhere new routes of communication, like so many new arteries of the body politic, multiply the contacts between its various parts; our large manufacturing centers have resumed their activity; religion, its foundations strengthened, seduces all hearts; maritime transport fills our ports; confidence returns; finally, France is breathing again! The words of the municipal councilor already promise a “great day” where we can find the ultimate satisfaction by offering ourselves to the public good. Its promises, ridiculous and absurd, represent the bland comfort existing within the structures of rural life. An example of the endings of this life is when Catherine Leroux, wrinkled; with hands gnarled by work and possessing the look of a farm animal, is called upon to receive 25 francs and a symbolic medal for obedience and duty to provincial life. By becoming Rodolphe's mistress, Emma indiscreetly breaks the pact with the city, ultimately exposing her reputation to the vicious vine of chuckles and muttered judgments intended to destroy those who attempt to rise above their station. a refutation of these notions of duty and an endorsement of the individual, makes a similar promise of a coming "great day." We feel the need to open our hearts to a given person, to abandon ourselves, to sacrifice everything. In such a meeting, no words are necessary: everyone feels the other's thoughts. Each is the answer to the dreams of the other...