Portrait of Signora Morrocchi by Antonio Puccinelli, 1859 AKG Images/De Agostini Picture Lib./G.Nimatallah
January 29, 1857. An immobile dervish tied to his work table, Gustave had been working on his Bovary for almost five years.
Sometimes he felt nauseous, cramps, a bad migraine.
He constantly had to force himself to remain neutral, cold, sober and precise, because his natural inclination pushes him towards a “
dithyrambic and swelling style
”.
Prisoner of himself in Croisset, he escaped from time to time to see his friends.
Laugh.
Breathe.
Become himself again.
But we had to come back and pick, dig, plow again.
Some days, he wrote ten pages, but only kept one which he reread, once, twenty times out loud, transforming his office, his garden, into a “
mouthroom
”.
If he perceived a harmony, a glide like the water of a flowing river, he would sigh with contentment.
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Today, he should feel free, relieved of the weight of this “
flat bourgeois history
” which cost him so much.
Well no !
The first episode of Madame Bovary appeared in the Revue de Paris founded by Maxime Du Camp, Théophile Gautier and Louis de Cormenin, but the management demanded cuts.
Furious, Flaubert fought hard before giving in, on the condition of writing himself a prayer to insert in which he “
declares to deny responsibility for the lines which follow
”.
How far away are the times when he and Maxime were like two Siamese brothers on the roads of Brittany or in Egypt during their trip to the Orient.
Ambition has changed Maxime.
Gustave still loves him, but over time it is Louis Bouilhet who has become his dearest companion.
Every Sunday, Louis came to Croisset and reread what Gustave had written during the week.
But Bouilhet left for Paris to try to have one of his plays performed.
How she missed him!
In order to see him, Flaubert visited the capital more often.
The Muse, with whom he had reconnected after his return from the Middle East, believed it was for her.
Women are strange!
At first, Gustave thought that Louise had changed as she was so velvety, but soon enough the recriminations started again.
Why does Gustave refuse to let her get to know his mother?
Why doesn't he take an apartment in Paris?
Why, why, why!
Exasperated, Flaubert left him a definitive break-up note.
And he took an actress as his mistress.
Then another.
Madame Bovary continues to appear in the Revue until December 15.
Flaubert signed a contract with Michel Lévy, a publisher who was on the rise.
But at the end of the month, Gustave was summoned to appear before an investigating judge for “
having attacked good morals and religion
” in his novel.
Flaubert will struggle like hell to put all the chances on his side.
He alerts his brother Achille so that he can use his connections, asks Lamartine who promises him his support, and takes Me Jules Senard, tenor of the bar, as his lawyer.
“On January 29, 1857, at ten o'clock in the morning, Gustave sat in the dock with the manager of the Revue de Paris and the printer.
»
Irina de Chikoff
On January 29, 1857, at ten o'clock in the morning, Gustave sat in the dock with the manager of the Revue de Paris and the printer.
Flaubert wrote a brief for the judges.
He mentions Rabelais, Montaigne, Régnier, Molière, Abbé Prévost, Lesage, Beaumarchais and Balzac, all of whom could have been accused of the same crime.
The long indictment of the deputy prosecutor, Ernest Pinard, essentially criticizes the novel for its “
lascivious color
”.
The brilliant defense argument describes Emma as a pathetic woman.
Me Senard reads Lamartine's reaction, when he learned of the proceedings initiated against Flaubert: "
it is not possible that there is a court in France to condemn you
", and mentions Bossuet as well as Massillon, whose author of Madame Bovary would be all impregnated.
Flaubert was delighted, and on January 30 he wrote to his brother: “
It was great and I had a proud ball.
»
The judgment is rendered on February 7.
The three accused were acquitted, but Flaubert received a reprimand.
On April 16, Madame Bovary is in all bookstores.
The first edition quickly sold out.
The second too.
The hermit of Croisset became famous.
He savors his success as he would a Chambertin.
But what makes him happiest is an article in L'Artiste.
It is signed by Charles Baudelaire.
This article comes from the
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Portrait of Signora Morrocchi by Antonio Puccinelli, 1859 AKG Images/De Agostini Picture Lib./G.Nimatallah