Emma Rouault, a young dreamy girl, transforms into a vain and capricious Madame Bovary, for whom clothes represent a door to the world of prestige and carefreeness. Through her life full of emotional ups and downs, regardless of her financial situation, she chooses to wear luxurious dresses with frills, pleated dresses with various embellishments, long capes of latest fashion, spiced up with hats, silk parasols, bracelets or lorgnon. With each disappointment, whether it is the absence of another invitation to the ball at Vaubyessard, Leon’s departure or Rodolphe’s broken promise, Emma’s world falls apart and for a certain period of time her passion for novelties in the closet or, more specifically, for anything, calm down. But there is always sun after the rain and this applies to Madame Bovary’s life as well: Leon’s presence in her new hometown, the arrival of the charming Rodolphe, the encounter with the more mature and bolder Leon in Rouen. These events give her new momentum and she starts to dedicate more and more time to shopping and to beauty routines. Each attire has its small imperfections, which are a clear reflection of her social status, but in the environment she’s in, she definitely always manages to stand out, with her choice of clothes and with her attitude. She continues with such careless behaviour until the terror of personal ruin takes her last breath. Clothes make the man and Flaubert, who put his entire self into Madame Bovary, was completely aware of that. With the sophistication of carefully written descriptions of clothes, the author clearly presented Emma’s moods, personality and dreams.
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