Le thème de la nourriture dans « Madame Bovary » de Gustave Flaubert

The topic of food in Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary This study proposes a pedagogic exploitation of the topic of food in Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. In realistic novels, food may seem to play a minor role, merely adding descriptive socio-cultural details. Moreover, secondary school students might consider it, together with long descriptions in general (such as that of Charles Bovary’s hat), as a lengthy delay in the progression of the story. Actually the topic of food can help the progress of the story itself and put emphasis on key moments. The paper will therefore provide an analysis of some remarkable passages, focusing in particular on the scene of the wedding banquet, on the link between food and desire, and on the antithesis jam vs. arsenic.