Dissertation - Gustave Flaubert

[shironantony]

Can anyone suggest a good dissertation topic on Flaubert?

[Elliott Brack]

I just recently read Flaubert. Last night I came across what I thought was a good quote (and will write about it on the Internet). It is this from Madame Bovary:


“And you, aged servants, humble domestics, whose hard labour no Government up to this day has taken into consideration, come hither to receive the reward of your silent virtues, and be assured that the state hence-forward has its eye upon you; that it encourages you, protects you; that it will accede to your jut demands; and alleviate as much as in it lies, the burden of your painful sacrifices.”

Now, since we are in debate over health care, does this indicate that this passage was some early thinking about nationalized health care for all people, for the State to step in and do what President Obama is attempting?

Might make a serious effort, especially if you can find additional quotes from his work along this line. I at least wanted to bring this to your attention, whereever you are. Good luck. --elliott brack, Norcross, Ga.

[Jozanny]

I just recently read Flaubert. Last night I came across what I thought was a good quote (and will write about it on the Internet). It is this from Madame Bovary:


“And you, aged servants, humble domestics, whose hard labour no Government up to this day has taken into consideration, come hither to receive the reward of your silent virtues, and be assured that the state hence-forward has its eye upon you; that it encourages you, protects you; that it will accede to your jut demands; and alleviate as much as in it lies, the burden of your painful sacrifices.”

Now, since we are in debate over health care, does this indicate that this passage was some early thinking about nationalized health care for all people, for the State to step in and do what President Obama is attempting?


As much as I have to curtail my posting for the sake of keeping my good arm functional, trying to parcel Flaubert's masterworks to serve as talking points for modern sociological issues does a disservice to the proper study of literary works and literature as a whole.

If you want to tackle the enormous complexity of modern health care rationing in a paper, more power to you, but Madame Bovary is an indictment of French culture and rural life in the 19th century--not a propagada tract for single payer systems--nor is it truly advocating better medical practices for the poor. What Flaubert cares about is the hypocrisy of vanity and the true nature of compassion we show for one another, among other things. Look before you leap.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Can anyone suggest a good dissertation topic on Flaubert?

I really think that you need to come up with your own dissertation question, I mean if you are going to spend 10,000 words or so writing about something, then it really needs to come from the person writing it and not some random Joe on a forum. No offense - it just stands to reason. Certainly I can think of worse writers to do a dissertation on, though, but you need to do your own reading and thinking on such a big area of your studies. Of course feel free to throw out a few ideas to see what people think, but overall it has to surely be your own work and if you are researching well you should have the upper hand over most people on Flaubert anyway.

[Jozanny]

I agree with Neely here. I do not mind using boards (that is what I call communities that use this basic software model) for advice on something specific--though more often than not I am disappointed, but a dissertation is far too important to your career not to have any idea where you want to go with it. I know it is hard, as I am almost fifty and find writing critical articles on Henry James difficult since everything has already been said, and Flaubert too has generated a large body of critical work--but think of what most fascinates you about the novel, and focus on those critics who touch upon it, and you will eventually find your thesis.