6 Best Gustave Flaubert Quotes

“She wanted to die, but she also wanted to live in Paris.”

Emma's contradictory desires after her first affair with Rodolphe, reflecting her restless longing for escape.

“Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars.”

Flaubert's narrator reflects on the inadequacy of language to express deep emotion, a theme throughout the novel.

“I am a woman of the world, and I know what I am doing.”

Emma's self-justification to Léon as she begins her second affair, showing her delusion of sophistication.

“The most important thing is to be happy.”

Charles's simple, unreflective philosophy, which contrasts with Emma's restless pursuit of passion.

“She was as much in love with the idea of love as with the man.”

Narrator's observation about Emma's romantic idealism, which leads her to confuse fantasy with reality.

“He had never been so happy as in this moment, when he was about to die.”

Charles's final moments, after he learns of Emma's infidelity, suggesting that his love for her was the only meaning in his life.