--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In Madame Bovary Flaubert never allows…" description: "\"In Madame Bovary Flaubert never allows anything to go on too long; he can suggest years of boredom in a paragraph, capture the essence of a character i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2f/michael-dirda-3414_art_in-madame-bovary-flaubert-never-allows-a_924374.png" --- # In Madame Bovary Flaubert never allows anything to go on… ![“In Madame Bovary Flaubert never allows anything to go on too long; he can suggest years of boredom in a paragraph, capture the essence of a character in a single conversational exchange, or show us the gulf between his soulful heroine and her dull-witted husband in a sentence (and one that…” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2f/michael-dirda-3414_art_in-madame-bovary-flaubert-never-allows-a_924374.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2f/michael-dirda-3414_art_in-madame-bovary-flaubert-never-allows-a_924374.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2f/michael-dirda-3414_art_in-madame-bovary-flaubert-never-allows-a_924374.png) > “In Madame Bovary Flaubert never allows anything to go on too long; he can suggest years of boredom in a paragraph, capture the essence of a character in a single conversational exchange, or show us the gulf between his soulful heroine and her dull-witted husband in a sentence (and one that, moreover, presages all Emma's later experience of men). (...) This is one of the summits of prose art, and not to know such a masterpiece is to live a diminished life.” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Flaubert compresses long emotional arcs into brief, vivid scenes, revealing deep character contrast and foreshadowing. **In simple terms:** Short scenes reveal deep truths. Key Takeaway Notice how brevity can heighten impact. Themes conciseness character contrast foreshadowing literary mastery Mood reflective appreciative Type literary analytical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - teaching prose - reading classic novels Key Concepts Narrative economy psychological depth Questions to Reflect On - How does brevity affect your emotional connection to characters? - Can a single scene replace a longer narrative? A Different Perspective Such compression may oversimplify complex emotions for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Heroines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroines/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Madame Bovary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madame-bovary/) [Masterpiece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masterpiece/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Soulful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soulful/) [Summit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summit/) ## Related quotes > [Art, whatever form it takes, requires hard work, craftsmanship and creativity. As a writer, I know my grammar, cadence, the music of prose, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/art-whatever-form-it-takes-requires-hard-work-craftsmanship-and/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [Prose is an art form, movies and acting in general are art forms, so is music, painting, graphics, sculpture, and so on. Some might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lake/prose-is-an-art-form-movies-and-acting-in-general-are-art-forms-so-is/) [Sam Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lake/) > [“Above all, readers want useful information, whether from a road sign or an investment guide. This motive is not completely absent even in readers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-w-flaherty/above-all-readers-want-useful-information-whether-from-a-road-sign-or/) [Alice W. Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-w-flaherty/) > [“The hormones also made me more emotional. I found myself snapping at Chad and Jeff for blasting The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/the-hormones-also-made-me-more-emotional-i-found-myself-snapping-at/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [Unicorns, dragons, witches may be creatures conjured up in dreams, but on the page their needs, joys, anguishes, and redemptions should be just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/unicorns-dragons-witches-may-be-creatures-conjured-up-in-dreams-but/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Doesn't it seem to you," asked Madame Bovary, "that the mind moves more freely in the presence of that boundless expanse, that the sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/doesn-t-it-seem-to-you-asked-madame-bovary-that-the-mind-moves-more/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“Do you know what Nabokov said about adultery in his lecture on Madame Bovary? He said it was 'a most conventional way to rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/do-you-know-what-nabokov-said-about-adultery-in-his-lecture-on-madame/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Madame Bovary and a flying carpet, they are both untrue in the same way. Somebody made them up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/madame-bovary-and-a-flying-carpet-they-are-both-untrue-in-the-same/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [But you have read Madame Bovary?' (I'd never heard of her books.) 'No.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/but-you-have-read-madame-bovary-i-d-never-heard-of-her-books-no/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Mary McCarthy, though, had it wrong when she wrote that “Madame Bovary is Don Quixote in skirts.” Emma’s suffering is Platonic: she searches, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/mary-mccarthy-though-had-it-wrong-when-she-wrote-that-madame-bovary/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [I have a boundless passion for Flaubert. It's unthinkable to me that someone might not have read 'Madame Bovary.' He writes with a scalpel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-macron/i-have-a-boundless-passion-for-flaubert-it-s-unthinkable-to-me-that/) [Brigitte Macron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigitte-macron/) > [“Dad once noted (somewhat morbidly, I thought at the time) that American institutions would be infinitely more successful in facilitating the pursuit of knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/dad-once-noted-somewhat-morbidly-i-thought-at-the-time-that-american/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [She (Madame Bovary) had that indefinable beauty that comes from happiness, enthusiasm, success - a beauty that is nothing more or less than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/she-madame-bovary-had-that-indefinable-beauty-that-comes-from/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [All fiction is based on truth - 'Madame Bovary' is based on a true story!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-slimani/all-fiction-is-based-on-truth-madame-bovary-is-based-on-a-true-story/) [Leila Slimani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-slimani/) > [I always wanted to be Jo in 'Little Women.' She's a bit reckless and feckless, always getting into trouble like me. But I'm probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/i-always-wanted-to-be-jo-in-little-women-she-s-a-bit-reckless-and/) [Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. 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But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In Madame Bovary Flaubert never allows anything to go on too long; he can suggest years of boredom in a paragraph, capture the essence of a character in a single conversational exchange, or show us the gulf between his soulful heroine and her dull-witted husband in a sentence (and one that, moreover, presages all Emma's later experience of men). 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