the quest for more

last night i finished madame bovary, and i must say, it is quite a tragic novel. it's about a woman who wants more and is never satisfied. married to a "dull" provincial doctor, she longs for the adventures of love and culture, and so falls into a life of adultery, lies, bankruptcy, and an end that none would wish on anyone. the book is an interesting look into the normal human longing for more, for adventure, for something amazing, and a poignant lesson of what happens when we look for those things through less than noble pursuits. emma, the main character, is extremely unlikeable, at least to me, after about the first fifty pages. one understands that she does not and cannot love her husband, but he is such a good fellow and loves her so dearly, her actions are abominable and selfish even to someone who might relate to her unhappiness in marriage (to which i do not). she has a little daughter who is basically raised by the maid and emma's relentless pursuit of her own pleasure leads to an unhappy life for all her family. still, emma represents that tendency in us all to want more than we have. in her case, she was unhappy, but even for the happiest of us, there is always that internal nag for more. call it the product of a consumerist society, but i tend to believe it is a touch of the eternal in us all. the hope that beyond our bodies and what we can see, there is, in fact, more.

my next venture: dracula by bram stoker. oh yeah.