Gustave Flaubert and Henrik Ibsen are both known as great writers and harsh social critics. In fact when Flauberts masterpiece Madame Bovary was released, he was arrested on the grounds that his novel was morally and religiously offensive to the public, despite the fact that it was a bestseller. Also Henrik Ibsens "A Doll's House" was such a slap in the face to many Europeans that it was banned in some countries and revised in Germany so that it had a happy ending. Some people in Norway even attributed the rising divorce rate to this play! What is it that drove both of these authors to be such harsh social critics? What exactly were their views? And what drove these two authors to create two of their most famous characters: Nora, from "A Dolls House", and Emma from Madame Bovary? An insight into the background of these authors reveals that both Nora and Emma are reflections of social and political viewpoints of their authors, and are at least partially based on people that the authors knew.
Emma's Family Reunion 2010
English: Illustration of Madame Bovary by Gustave ...
English: Illustration of Madame Bovary by Gustave ...First of all, it is important to know the socio-economic status and background of the two authors. It is also good to at least have an idea about the society in which they lived. Then it is possible to see why they had certain viewpoints and how these viewpoints had an effect on the personalities and actions of their characters.
Gustave Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821 in Rouen, France to a wealthy surgeon. As a boy he was well aware of the incompetence in the medical profession, and the middle class "lip service" which he portrayed through Homais in Madame Bovary. In his college years, Flaubert began to despise the middle class even more as he became enthralled...