BOVARYSM, ITS CONCEPT AND APPLICATION TO LITERATURE: STENDHAL, FLAUBERT, HARDY, ALAS, AND LEWIS (PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY, SELF; FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, UNITED STATES)
Abstract
Bovarysm, or the power to see oneself as different from what one is, is a philosophical and psychological ideology developed by Jules de Gaultier in his works Le Bovarysme (1902), La Fiction universelle (1903), and Le Genie de Flaubert (1913). In Chapter One, Gaultier's theories are examined in relation to the concepts of human evolution, truth, reality, and selfhood. In order to place Bovarysm in the context of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American and European thought, Chapters Two and Three discuss its philosophical roots and psychological ties, respectively. Gaultier's notion of fiction as a useful and essential part of life is considered within the framework of the philosophies of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Vaihinger. The concept of the self as a composite of selves that is always evolving and becoming other as treated by Gaultier, William James, Alfred Adler, and Jean-Paul Sartre is discussed. Chapter Four treats Flaubert's Madame Bovary as the consummate model for Bovarysm in literature. Emma Bovary's need to alter reality by transforming her perception of self and events is examined in light of the comments of such literary scholars as R. P. Blackmur, Victor Brombert, and Jacques Neefs. A symmetrical pattern of Bovarysm is examined whereby the novel's three parts are each divided into a series of actions: movement, hope, love, disappointment, and despondency. The further application of Bovarysm in literature is presented in Chapter Five. This comparative analysis discusses bovarystic characters and situations in Stendhal's Le Rouge et le noir, Hardy's The Return of the Native, Alas' His Only Son, and Lewis' Main Street. In general, the bovarystic novel deals with how a character views himself and the world around him. In a quest of self, the character relies on external sources for self-definition. As part of this quest, the character pursues an ideal whose value is exaggerated and tries to emulate a model personality that is much too different from his own to be attainable. Dissatisfied with life and at odds with society, the bovarystic character finds a temporary escape through marriage, a love affair, a journey, or a grandiose plan.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Comparative literature|Romance literature|British and Irish literature|American literature
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