Emma’s Path to Destruction in Madame Bovary

Emma’s Path to Destruction in Madame Bovary

In his song, "Instant Karma!," John Lennon shouts an ominous warning to his listeners: "Instant karma's gonna get you / gonna knock you right in the head / better get yourself together, darlin' / pretty soon your gonna be dead... " The subject of his scorn may have been socially conservative Americans bent on the abolition of social progressives, but clearly anyone can gleam a bit of wisdom from such blunt counsel. Even Gustav Flaubert's eponymous heroine, Emma Bovary, may have been able to escape her grim cycle of misfortune, disappointment, and utter despair had she understood the relatively simple Hindu law of karma Lennon alludes to here, which states: "Any action whatsoever is the effect of a cause and is in its turn the cause of an effect" (Zaehner 4). For according to this law, every odious act committed by Emma Bovary had an equally odious impact on her future; therefore one might suppose that, had she done enough good, or performed enough tasks for the benefit of someone other than herself, her ultimate fate would not have been so terrible. As Flaubert has it, however, Emma Bovary's myriad, abhorrent acts of deceit, adultery, and self-serving manipulation of even those who care for her eventually lead her onto that dark, cyclical path that so often ends, as in this case of Madame Bovary's doomed protagonist, with tragedy.

Traditionally the Hindi faith recognizes karma as a force collected throughout one's life that serves as catalyst for the events and situations one will experience in the next life. To understand the impact of karma on Emma Bovary, one must examine her as having lived three distinct lives: daughter, wife, and mistress. During her first ...

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