Madame Bovary: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 69 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
10,435 different words. On average 55 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 4,940 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
emma, charles, monsieur, madame, chemist. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 8.66 words ending in 'ly' and 7.8 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 3.1% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 5.3% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 32% of sentences: she, the, he, and, but.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| she | 543 |
| the | 530 |
| he | 485 |
| and | 290 |
| but | 279 |
| then | 261 |
| i | 209 |
| it | 202 |
| they | 143 |
| emma | 134 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.75 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
249 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 2.13 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 4: The “new fellow,” standing in the corner behind the door so that he could hardly be seen, was a country lad of about fifteen, and taller than any …
Ch 1, para 5: We began repeating the lesson. He listened with all his ears, as attentive as if at a sermon, not daring even to cross his legs or lean on …
Ch 1, para 7: But, whether he had not noticed the trick, or did not dare to attempt it, the “new fellow,” was still holding his cap on his knees even after …
Ch 1, para 18: A hubbub broke out, rose in crescendo with bursts of shrill voices (they yelled, barked, stamped, repeated “Charbovari! Charbovari”), then died away into single notes, growing quieter only …
Ch 1, para 22: “Five hundred lines for all the class!” shouted in a furious voice stopped, like the Quos ego, a fresh outburst. “Silence!” continued the master indignantly, wiping his brow …
Ch 1, para 27: In the evening, at preparation, he pulled out his pens from his desk, arranged his small belongings, and carefully ruled his paper. We saw him working conscientiously, looking …
Flaubert uses abundant similes and metaphors, often comparing Emma's emotional states to natural phenomena or objects. Examples include Emma as a 'carp after water' (16), her being 'wrapped round by warm air' (8), and her heart as 'burning incense' (23). Metaphors of entrapment, descent, and corruption dominate.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 16, Ch 23, Ch 29, Ch 32
Emma, on entering, felt herself wrapped round by the warm air, a blending of the perfume of flowers and of the fine linen (Ch 8, para 8)
She is gaping after love like a carp after water on a kitchen-table. With three words of gallantry she’d adore one (Ch 16, para 62)
Her body, relieved, no longer thought; another life was beginning; it seemed to her that her being, mounting toward God, would be annihilated in that love like a burning incense that melts into vapour. (Ch 23, para 6)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 54%, sound 26%, touch 14%, taste 3%, smell 3%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 773 |
| sound | 367 |
| touch | 204 |
| taste | 49 |
| smell | 43 |
All five senses feature prominently. Sight dominates (Emma's visual obsessions with luxury and beauty). Touch is crucial to seduction scenes (55, 78). Sound marks emotional moments (opera in 24). Smell appears in sensory descriptions (22). Taste is minimal but present in feast scenes (4, 11).
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 8, Ch 11, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 29
Emma, on entering, felt herself wrapped round by the warm air, a blending of the perfume of flowers and of the fine linen (Ch 8, para 8)
With the tips of her fingers she caught her dress at the knee, and having thus pulled it up to her ankle, held out her foot in its black boot to the fire (Ch 11, para 4)
It mingles with the characters, and it seems as if it were yourself palpitating beneath their costumes. (Ch 11, para 32)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
117 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.0 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Flaubert uses lists of three frequently: three coffins (33), three days of passion (27), three sources of rejection (31). Repetition marks obsession: Emma's repeated visits to Rouen, the blind beggar's recurring appearances (29, 32), and Charles's repeated dreams (35). Patterns emphasise cyclical despair.
Chapters: Ch 27, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33, Ch 35
I wish her to be buried in her wedding-dress, with white shoes, and a wreath. Her hair is to be spread out over her shoulders. Three coffins, one of oak, one of mahogany, one of lead. (Ch 33, para 27)
the wood of the coffin, struck by the pebbles, gave forth that dread sound that seems to us the reverberation of eternity (Ch 34, para 27)
Yet every night he dreamt of her; it was always the same dream. He drew near her, but when he was about to clasp her she fell into decay in his arms (Ch 35, para 34)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: whence, art, whilst, thither, hither, thine.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| whence | 19 |
| art | 16 |
| whilst | 11 |
| thither | 6 |
| hither | 3 |
| thine | 2 |
| nay | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Flaubert shows rather than tells throughout. Emma's disillusionment emerges through her actions and thoughts (5 to 9) rather than authorial statement. Her affair with Rodolphe unfolds in scenes (17 to 22). Financial ruin is shown through mounting debts and rejections (29 to 31) rather than summary.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 9, Ch 17, Ch 22, Ch 29, Ch 31
Before marriage she thought herself in love; but the happiness that should have followed this love not having come, she must, she thought, have been mistaken (Ch 5, para 10)
If Charles had but wished it, if he had guessed it, if his look had but once met her thought, it seemed to her that a sudden plenty would have gone out from her heart (Ch 7, para 2)
But she was eaten up with desires, with rage, with hate. (Ch 14, para 63)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description often precedes action, especially in establishing settings. Chapter 10 describes Yonville extensively before introducing characters. Chapter 8 details the ball's luxury before Emma's seduction. However, Flaubert frequently weaves description into action rather than stopping narrative flow entirely.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 10, Ch 17, Ch 24
Emma, on entering, felt herself wrapped round by the warm air, a blending of the perfume of flowers and of the fine linen (Ch 8, para 8)
Yonville-l’Abbaye (so called from an old Capuchin abbey of which not even the ruins remain) is a market-town twenty-four miles from Rouen (Ch 10, para 1)
It is there that they make the worst Neufchâtel cheeses of all the arrondissement (Ch 10, para 4)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 6.09 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 159 |
| seemed | 159 |
| saw | 132 |
| heard | 81 |
| felt | 77 |
| knew | 54 |
| watched | 28 |
| noticed | 13 |
| wondered | 8 |
| realised | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from romantic yearning (6 to 9) to bitter irony (20, 30 to 31). Early chapters are sympathetic to Emma; later ones grow harsh. The narration becomes increasingly detached as Emma's corruption deepens. Comic moments (Homais's pretensions) contrast with tragic climax (32 to 35).
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 20, Ch 30, Ch 32, Ch 35
She is gaping after love like a carp after water on a kitchen-table. With three words of gallantry she’d adore one (Ch 16, para 62)
Emma, opposite, watched him; she did not share his humiliation; she felt another--that of having supposed such a man was worth anything. (Ch 20, para 66)
Where could she have learnt this corruption almost incorporeal in the strength of its profanity and dissimulation? (Ch 29, para 150)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy arises from gap between pretension and reality. Homais's scientific bombast, Charles's medical failure (20), the agricultural show's pompous speeches (17) undercut by Rodolphe's seduction. Irony is the primary tool: characters' self-deceptions are exposed through their own words and actions.
Chapters: Ch 10, Ch 17, Ch 20, Ch 23, Ch 35
But that which most attracts the eye is opposite the Lion d’Or inn, the chemist’s shop of Monsieur Homais. (Ch 10, para 11)
She is gaping after love like a carp after water on a kitchen-table. With three words of gallantry she’d adore one (Ch 16, para 62)
For,” said he to Emma, “what risk is there? See--” (and he enumerated on his fingers the advantages of the attempt), “success, almost certain relief and beautifying of the patient, celebrity acquired by the operator. (Ch 20, para 2)
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