The Enslaved Self

Gustave Flaubert is an outstanding writer of realism in the 19 th century.With superb observation and calm attitude,he depicted various scenes and details of French society at that time.Taking Madame Bovary,Flaubert's most notable work,as the main object of study,this paper explores the tragic fate of Emma,the heroine,under the background of the French capitalism in the 19 th century from the perspective of consumerism through careful reading of the text and Jean Baudrillard's consumption theory.The introduction summarizes the research on Flaubert's works at home and abroad,especially Madame Bovary,following by an introduction of the historical background of Madame Bovary's book-the Second Empire of France,which transformed from traditional society to modern society.Taking Balzac and Zola as examples,it explores the consumerism in French literature in the 19 th century.Besides,Baudrillard's consumption theory,which applied in this paper,was introduced here.Based on this theory,this paper interprets the rationality and unique significance of Madame Bovary.Finally,the content and method of this paper are briefly described.The body of this paper divided into three parts,discussing the causes of Emma's tragic ending.The first part,starting from the reasons of Emma herself,as the author explored,who tries to construct herself through consumption,is enslaved by consumption.The second part is about the analysis of the bourgeois vulgar people around Emma,expounds that Emma's death could not be separated from them.The third part elaborates the landscape of consumer society under the rapid development of capitalism,pointing out that it is this capitalist society,which is full of materialism and consumerism that completely besieges Emma and eventually leads to her tragic ending.The conclusion summarizes the essence of Emma's pursuit of consumption and her tragic fate under the influences of others and society,explores the Enlightenment of Emma's fate to contemporary women.Modern women should learn from Emma and refuse to be materialized,defined and enslaved by consumption.This is the treasure that Flaubert left to all of us.