Chapter summary
In this chapter Emma's desire acquires the object that will guide the rest of the book: the luxury of the château. It is not the handsome young man who seduces Emma Bovary (the Viscount appears only when he invites her twice to the waltz); it is the material and social excess of the château: the portraits with names of centuries of lineage, the decrepit Duke of Laverdière at the table, whom Emma observes as something extraordinary for having lived at court, the iced champagne, the pomegranates and pineapples she had never seen or tasted, and the waltz she does not know how to dance and dances right there, dizzy, her head resting on the chest of a stranger. Charles Bovary, who tries to say that the straps of his trousers would get in the way of dancing, hears from Emma that a doctor's place is not there, and spends five hours standing before the whist tables without understanding the game.
Analysis
While she dresses for the ball, Emma cuts short her husband's idea of dancing: Mais tu as perdu la tête! on se moquerait de toi, reste à ta place. D’ailleurs, c’est plus convenable pour un médecin
, but you have lost your mind! They would laugh at you, stay in your place. Besides, it is more fitting for a doctor.
Emma enters the ball with the attention of an actress making her debut, and what moves her is to fit into her place. So she cuts Charles off before the room does: when he speaks of dancing, she says he has lost his head, that they would mock him, that a doctor should stay still; and she pushes him away when he kisses her shoulder because it crushes her dress. He spends five hours before the whist table without understanding the game.
Subscription
The complete analysis of every chapter of Madame Bovary comes with a subscription, along with the explanation of each quote, the quiz, the PDF guide, and the study workbook.