'Emotional education' - Flaubert's masterpiece
"Emotional Education" - the famous novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert - was not well received by the public, thinking the work was meaningless.
The work, translated by Le Hong Sam, is the last novel by French novelist Gustave Flaubert . The work was written by him in 1864, completed in 1869, about the romance of a young man in search of career and fame - Frederic Moreau - with young Marie Arnoux.
The novel begins with the departure of the ship La Ville-de-Montereau from the port of Saint-Bernard on September 15, 1840. Space is a landmark of a love story set in the context of important changes in French political life. As for Frederic Moreau, he was a young man who went from dreamy to apathetic and broke down in relation to himself and to society.
Vietnamese cover of the novel "Emotional Education". Photo: Phanbook
In the year of its release, the work generated mixed receptions. The French public at that time thought that the work was too meaningless and boring. Because the book is written at a slow pace, in which Flaubert cancels out nearly all the drama of the story. On the contrary, according to critic James Wood, it is the aimlessness, simplicity, slowness, and purposelessness that make the book great.
"He wandered, back up to the Latin area, which is usually very busy, but at this time it is quiet, because students have returned to their families. The high walls of the schools, as if they were higher in the morning. the silence, the more sullen; one hears all kinds of gentle noises, the flapping of birds in cages, the hum of lathes, the hammering of a shoemaker; and the clothes sellers, in the middle of the street In vain, looking at a window in vain, deep inside lonely refreshments, the woman at the counter yawns among the full bottles of wine; the newspapers are still neatly stacked on the tables of the reading rooms; in laundromat, clothes fluttering in the damp breezes."
The above quote by Gustave Flaubert is one of several examples of his depiction of the ordinary. Many critics say that he created a restrained style, focusing on the presentation of visual details, which seemed to go against the trend of 19th century literature. His style opened a way. Brand new for novelists.
Flaubert once said: "For me, the novelist has no right to express his opinion on anything. Imitate God: Do your thing and keep your mouth shut."
The author's writing style also makes readers feel somewhat vague and anxious feelings of young Parisians in the context of the ongoing French revolutions, creating the premise for the formation of the second empire in France. . Many experts consider this to be not only a book about an individual history, but also a large social picture of Paris during the 1848 revolution.
After half a century, Marcel Proust and the great novelists of the 20th century have reassessed the work's value. With the new Criticism, the New Novel movement, the novel became a masterpiece sought after by readers.
Franz Kafka ranks Emotional Education as one of his favorite novels. Japanese writer Haruki Murakami once referred to the work in his first novel as an important symbol of literature.
The British literary critic James Wood asserts that whether they love him or hate him, "novelists should thank him the way poets thank spring: Everything starts anew with Gustave Flaubert".
The American literary critic Edmund Wilson said: "Gustave Flaubert, with just one phrase - a comment about some trivial thing - can convey the whole bitterness of lust, the sorrow of human failure. The way he describes some simple scene ends in a fading rhythm that reminds us of wonderful poetry or music."
Gustave Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821 in Rouen and died on May 8, 1880 in Croisset, France. He spent a peaceful childhood with his father who worked as a surgeon at Rouen hospital. After brief years of studying law in Paris, he contracted a mental illness that forced him to return to his family's estate in Croisset. He plunged into composing and in turn published Madame Bovary (1857), a novel that got him entangled in a lawsuit for insulting religious morality and fine customs.
After completing Mrs. Bovary , in a letter to her friend, the writer proudly said: "I seek the raging waves, not take refuge in a safe harbor. If I sink, you will not be. where to mourn". And the writer's pride is well-founded, his Salammbo , Sentimental Education , Three Tales , Bouvard and Pecuchet (Bouvard and Pecuchet) are still considered masterpieces to this day. work.
Book reveals short story style by Gustave Flaubert
Translators Le Hong Sam, Phung Ngoc Kien introduce readers to a collection of three short stories showing the perfect style of the great French writer.
Gustave Flaubert's Silent Love
The author of "Madame Bovary" is known for being very rude to women, but with Gertrude Tennant it was different. She was the person he secretly loved, whom he affectionately called "My Youth".