Homais As A Symbol Of The Bourgeois example essay topic

An analysis of Homais as an instrument of satire In Flaubert's satiric novel, the story's apothecary is used to convey Flaubert's views of the bourgeois. As a vehicle for Flaubert's satire, Homais is portrayed as opportunistic and self-serving, attributes that Flaubert associated with the middle class. Homais' obsession with social mobility leads him to commit despicable acts. His character and values are also detestable.

He is self-serving, hypocritical, opportunistic, egotistical, and crooked. All these negative characteristics are used by Flaubert to represent and satirize specific aspects of middle class society. More specific issues that are addressed include Homais's uperficial knowledge, religious hypocrisy, and pretentiousness. Furthermore, his status as a secondary character suggests his significance to the satire. If Emma is meant to portray the feminine aspect of the bourgeois then Homais is undoubtedly meant to represent the masculine aspect. Flaubert wanted to ridicule and criticize the bourgeois class.

By including Homais, Flaubert is able to satirize all the negative aspects of middle class society within a single novel. In adolescence and throughout much of his life, Gustave Flaubert regarded the bourgeois existence as an "immense, indistinct, unmitigated state of mindlessness" (Wall 29-31). He vented his contempt for the bourgeois in many of his works. In his Dictionary of Received Ideas he proclaims: "Each bourgeois phrase, each bourgeois feeling, each bourgeois opinion is touched by the hilarious dismaying suspicion of fakery. Solemnly and energetically proclaiming their clich " es to each other, perhaps the bourgeois are indeed simply machines. They are stuck, like busy automat a, in their perpetual false consciousness" (Wall 29-31).

In Madam Bovary, Gustave Flaubert uses Homais as one of the central figures of his satire. Homais, Yonville's apothecary and the Bovarys' neighbor, is used as a vehicle to ridicule the values and principles of the French middle class. True to this, Homais is depicted as an overly ambitious, self-important fool. For example, Flaubert creatively stages arguments between Homais and the village priest in order to mock the bourgeois's lack of spirituality. One encounter of note occurs on Emma's deathbed soon after she has passed away. The Priest declares that there is nothing left but to pray for Emma.

In response, Homais, an avowed agnostic, blasphemously objects, "since God knows our needs, what can be the use of prayer?" This in turn, starts a heated and farcical debate over religion, which culminates when Homais accuses the Jesuits of fabricating history. The heated discussion briefly ceases when Charles enters the room, and then resumes once he has left. Homais' dispute over the use of prayer not only reaffirms his agnostic beliefs but also reflects his open contempt for the church and its institutions. Furthermore, his apparent eagerness to win the debate overrides his respect for the deceased, and further underscores his selfish and indifferent values. As a representative of the bourgeois, Homais is depicted as morally offensive and shallow. In fact, the very image of him arguing ideologies over the deceased body of Emma is offensive in itself.

"Flaubert creatively uses this incident to highlight the ideological and religious decay of French middle class society and also to ridicule the optimism and enthusiasm for scientific progress and enlightenment which were so marked a feature of mid-19th century France" (Thomy 576). Homais' indifference and superficial knowledge are cleverly highlighted in the incident with Hippolyte. In the novel, he is constantly rambling on about revolutionary medical procedures he knows nothing about. This more often then not leads him into trouble. For example, in his aspirations for fame and prestige Homais manipulatively convinces Hippolyte to have a surgery he doesn't need in an attempt to fix his clubfoot. He arranges for Charles to carry out the surgery, however, the surgery becomes botched after Hippolyte's leg becomes gangrenous.

Charles is forced to summon a doctor to amputate Hippolyte's leg. Afterwards, Homais is forced to listen to the reproaches of the doctor for devising the operation. "Homais was suffering as he listened to this sermon, and he hid his discomfort behind a courtier's smile, needing to appease Monsieur Carnivet, whose prescriptions sometimes came as far as Yonville" (Bovary 169). The doctor reprimands Homais for attempting to fix a situation that was perfectly well. Hippolyte was obviously better off before the surgery. In this incident, Homais selfishly sacrifices his dignity in order to protect the more serious interests of his business.

He abides the insults and swallows his pride in order to appease the doctor. Afterwards, to comfort his conscience, he relishes all blame and displaces the fault on Charles' inadequacy as a doctor. Clearly, Homais' interests lies with protecting himself and not the well being of Hippolyte, whom he has ruined. In a similar incident, Homais attempts to cure the sight of a blind beggar. In an act of blind confidence and pretentiousness he assures the blind beggar that he can restore his sight, "the apothecary guaranteed that he would cure the man himself, with an anti phlogiston ointment of his own creation, and he gave his address" (Bovary 280). However, like the incident with Hippolyte, Homais utterly fails and only succeeds in aggravating the beggar's condition.

To hide his failure this time, Homais embarks on a campaign to rid Yonville of the blind beggar, who to the ire of Homais, had resorted to telling travelers of the apothecary's fruitless efforts. Homais does succeed, however, in silencing the beggar. Through his efforts, the beggar is condemned to an asylum. "The success emboldened him" (Bovary 322). Through this incident, Flaubert ridicules the bourgeois' blind confidence in pseudo-intellectual science and progress. Furthermore, the incident provides another example of Homais' crafty and conniving character.

Once again, we see that Homais' interests lies with protecting himself and not his patients. Flaubert also uses Homais to criticize the superficiality and pride of the bourgeois class. In a testament to his anti-clericalism and vanity, Homais engages in another argument with the priest over the morality of going to the theatre and reading literature such as Voltaire. The priest declares that the both bad literature and the theatre engender "a certain libertine mood, inspires unclean thoughts, and impure longings". In response, Homais delivers a cheap shot by admitting to know "priests who dress up in ordinary clothes to go and watch dancing-girls wiggling about". After the priest leaves dejected and defeated, Homais turns to Charles and declares, "Now that's what I call an rumpus!" (Bovary 203).

Flaubert ridicules the bourgeois' preoccupation with life's most trivial matters. Homais' pride and shallow determination to win causes him to disgrace the priest, a classic example of the ruthless attitude that Flaubert so vehemently detested. His overly ambitious attitude becomes apparent towards the end of the novel. He is a successful pharmacist and a content father, however, "a secret ambition irked him; Homais wanted the medal of the Legion of Honor", a sign of nobility (Bovary 324). Even though Homais achieved what some men could only dream of, he is not satisfied until his ambitions are appeased. And although Homais professes to be egalitarian he is clearly status-conscious.

Using Homais, Flaubert criticizes the bourgeois' aspirations towards nobility. Flaubert does more than employ Homais as a symbol of the bourgeois. He also utilizes Homais as a counterpart to Emma. "In French the two names suggest Femme and Homme - woman and man" (Wall 29). True to this, Emma and Homais shared similar dreams; both aspired to become members of the nobility.

Their passion for social mobility leads them to commit despicable acts. Emma lies, steals, and commits adultery, while Homais crookedly takes advantage of others. Both sacrifice the well being of others in order to elevate their own positions and to serve their own selfish needs. In the end, Emma commits suicide and leaves her family in ruins. On the other hand, Homais, who had tirelessly strive d toward nobility, realizes his dreams. He becomes a virtual member of the upper class and is awarded his coveted medal of the Legion of Honor.

"He was doing infernally well; the authorities handled him carefully and public opinion was on his side. He had just received the Legion of Honor" (Bovary 327). As can be seen, Homais is one of the most important secondary characters of the novel. Flaubert uses him extensively to represent and ridicule the bourgeois, and to contrast Emma's demise with irony. His success and Emma's simultaneous downfall ends the novel with an ironic twist. In this way, Flaubert conveys his cynical yet realistic belief that it is often those who are selfish and opportunistic that are rewarded rather than the humble and honest.

Homais is essentially a compilation of all the negative aspects of the bourgeois class that Flaubert detested so much; he is a crafty hypocrite, a medical charlatan, a self-important know-it-all, and a quack. "He serves to expose the ideological decay of an erstwhile revolutionary class" (Wall 28). Certainly, Flaubert's attack on 19th-century French middle class society is both complete and thorough, but at the same time subtle and smooth. Primary Sources Flaubert, Gustave. Intimate Notebook 1840-1841. Trans.

Francis Steegmuller. New York: Doubleday & Company, 167. Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary. Trans.

Geoffrey Wall. London: Penguin, 1992. Secondary SourcesThody, Philip. Reference Guide to World Literature. 2nd ed. New York: St. James Press, 1995.

Wall, Geoffrey. Introduction. Madame Bovary. By Flaubert, Gustave.

London: Penguin, 1992.

Bibliography

Bromberg, Victor. The Novels of Flaubert: A study of themes and techniques. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966.
Kenner, Hugh. The Stoic Comedians. Boston: Beacon Press, 1962.