A Rose for Emily/Miss Brill

Compare and contrast how Miss. Brill and Miss. Emily avoid reality.  What is the eventual outcome for each woman?

            In “A Rose for Emily,” Emily avoids reality in several different ways.  When her father died she was faced with reality, which was something that she did not seem prepared for.  She tries to avoid this reality by claiming “her father was not dead” for three days and then “she went out very little” so people did not see her.  She tried to avoid reality by distancing herself from people because it seemed as if she was scared of losing anyone else or even letting someone come into her life.  Although she secluded herself from many people, she and Homer Barron fell in love.  Even though they fell in love, she killed him; it seemed as if she killed him to avoid the reality of him ever leaving her or her losing him like she lost her father.  The ultimate outcome for Emily was her death.  It seemed as if her constant avoidance of reality led to her downfall, which made her ill.  In the story, it appears as if Emily is afraid of reality and wants to avoid all the hurt or loss that accompanies reality, but her death shows that she could not truly escape reality.

            In “Miss Brill,” Miss Brill also tries to avoid reality, but in a different manner than Emily.  Miss Brill tried to escape reality by dressing up in her “fur” and going to the park every Sunday because she felt as if she was an important part of the events that took place.  She felt as if the events in the park were “like a play” and that it was “no doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there.”  It seemed as if she attended this every Sunday event because it was her way of escaping the true reality and it made her feel more important than she probably really was. It seemed as if she was able to escape the own reality of her life by attending this event because she constantly watched and observed others and judged what she thought of their life rather than her own.  However, her outcome came to her when she overheard a girl and a boy talking about her and saying things about her “fur” and “why does she come here at all.”  Because of her overhearing what someone really thought of her, harsh reality finally came to her and she realized that she was not as important as she thought she was and that her fur could not truly cover up her reality.  Although she tried to escape reality, it was made obvious that she could not.

            Although Emily and Miss Brill both avoided reality differently, they did have some similarities.  For example, they both held onto things that they thought could help them avoid reality by bringing them comfort or happiness.  Emily kept Homer Barron’s body after she had killed him probably because she did not want to let go of something that once brought her happiness and comfort.  Although Miss Brill did not hold onto a human, she held onto her “fur” because she believed it made her feel important and brought her happiness.  Because both of the women feel so dissatisfied with their own lives, they feel as if they have to find ways to escape the reality of their dissatisfaction.  Although they both seem to find a way to escape reality, reality also catches up to the both of them.           

Discuss the endings for both stories.  What type of ending is it?  Justify your answer.  Do the plot elements lead up the ending?  Explain how so.  Is each story literary or commercial, based on plot and ending? 

            “A Rose for Emily” contains a surprise ending because it contains a sudden, unexpected twist, the murder of Homer Barron.  Throughout the story, the reader never suspects that Emily would have murdered Homer Barron.  The story is literary because the ending relates to the story as a whole and it makes logical sense.  The plot elements definitely lead up to the ending because all throughout the story Emily was trying to escape reality, and the ending shows her ultimate escape of reality, killing Homer Barron.  It also leads up to the ending because Emily seems a bit suspicious throughout the story because she constantly secludes herself from others and no one knows what went on inside of her home; the ending reveals as to why she may have seemed a bit suspicious.  Also, during the story it was unclear as to why Emily wanted to purchase arsenic, but the ending showed the reader why she wanted to buy the arsenic and what exactly she used it for.

            I believe that “Miss Brill” contains both an intermediate ending and an unhappy ending.  I believe the ending is intermediate because after she heard the boy and girl talk badly about her she goes home, without stopping at the bakery she usually stops at and put her fur away and “when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying.”  The reader does not know what happens to Miss Brill after the story is over, which makes it into an intermediate ending.  I also believe it could be considered an unhappy ending because Miss Brill’s seems to be emotionally hurt after she hears the boy and girl talking about her; she used to think she was so important, but now she felt extremely belittled.  The story contains a literary plot because although the ending was much different than the rest of the story, it all relates to the story as a whole and makes the reader realize that Miss Brill was trying to pretend to be something she was not in order to escape reality.  The plot elements do lead up to the ending because she is constantly observing others in the story, but it is when she observes people talking about her when she becomes so upset and leads to the ending of the story.

Pick one story.  What are some examples of irony?  What type is it?  What do the ironies reveal?

            “Miss Brill” contains ironies that can be seen throughout much of the story.  Dramatic irony plays a huge role in this story.  An example of dramatic irony from the story would be how Miss Brill sees herself as so important to the events that take place on Sunday and she believes “it was like a play” and she was “an actress.”  This is an example of dramatic irony because although Miss Brill thinks she is so important, the reader knows that she is just imagining herself as this in order to escape from her own unhappiness or reality.  Also it is an example of dramatic irony because the reader knows that the event that takes place every Sunday is not really a play like Miss Brill imagines it to be.  She adds to the dramatic irony by wearing her “fur” to these events because she believes it makes her feel even more important, but the reader knows that this is not so.  Although the story includes dramatic irony, it also includes situational irony.  An example of situational irony in the story is when Miss Brill listens to the boy and girls conversation who she imagines is the “hero and heroine” of this play that she thinks everyone is in, but Miss Brill’s expectations of the boy and girl soon come to an end.  The boy and girl reveal how they truly feel about Miss Brill, which is not the outcome in which she had expected.  The irony used in “Miss Brill” helps to emphasize and reveal how far away from reality Miss Brill really was, but that in the end she still could not escape it.

The Lady with the Dog

Is Anna and Gurov’s relationship simply a case of bad timing?  What does “The Lady with the Dog” say about relationships?

            Although Anna and Gurov’s relationship may simply seem as if it was a case of bad timing, I do not believe this is true.  It appears as if it was bad timing because they were both married, but they both made the decision to marry someone that they were not happy with.  Gurov married “his second year at college” and viewed his wife as “shallow, narrow-minded, and dowdy,” and Anna often talked about how unhappy she was with her marriage and that she thought of her husband as a “flunky” (1524 and 1527).  Because of their decisions to marry someone they were not happy with and who they were not fond of, it seemed as if they were paying for it now.  They seemed to be suffering from the decisions that they had made because Gurov had fallen in love with Anna “properly,” but they were suffering because they could not see each other much and they were constantly trying to figure out how to overcome their struggles (1535).  Although they believed “fate had intended them for one another” they were struggling to figure out how they could make this happen because of their marriages (1535).  Therefore, their relationship was not simply a case of bad timing, but instead a case of bad decisions.

            The reader can infer from “The Lady with the Dog” that relationships are not something that should be pursued unless it is truly what you want.  The reader can infer that this story says this about relationships because both Anna and Gurov pursued a marriage that they were both not happy in, and because of this, they were suffering because they found true love with each other, rather than with their spouses.  This story could also say that corrupt relationships that include unhappiness could lead to deceitfulness and many hidden secrets.  In “The Lady with the Dog” both Anna and Gurov pursue an affair due to their unhappiness with their own marriage.  Although Gurov has many more affairs, it is all because of his unhappiness.  Ultimately, this story reveals that one should not pursue a relationship unless truly in love and happy because there is someone who will make you realize what true love and happiness is, but if you pursue a relationship without it, you may never have the chance to know because it will be too late.

What quest is Gurov on?  Is he successful?

            Because of Gurov’s unhappiness with his own marriage, he was on a quest to find true love and happiness in “The Lady with the Dog.”  It appears as if Gurov desired for happiness, but was satisfied with even a temporary happiness and passion because he began to deceive his wife by becoming unfaithful long before Anna came along because he was unhappy in his marriage (1524).  When he pursued an affair with Anna it seemed as if he was only looking to fulfill his desire for passion because he seemed to believe that he was not going to find happiness.  It seemed as if they knew their relationship was not going to last because when Anna left to return to her husband, Gurov simply just viewed their affair as “one more of the many adventures on his life” (1529).  However, it is when she was gone that Gurov realized that it was Anna who made him truly happy and that he was in love with her because the thought of her never left his mind (1530).  Gurov was successful in his quest because he went to reunite with Anna, where she promised him that she would come visit him.  Indeed, Anna kept to her promise and they both realized that they made each other truly happy and that “this love of theirs would not soon come to an end” (1535); they realized that what they had was real, realer than what they had in their own marriages and that they truly wanted to be with each other.  Although Gurov was successful in his quest, he and Anna were both faced with the constant struggle of being with each other.

Diary of a Madman

How does Diary of a Madman relate to the Chinese society?

Lu Xun does a very effective job at portraying Chinese society in a much different sense, cannibalism.  Just like Chinese society “devours its members,” the reader can see the same thing taking place in Diary of a Madman (1919).  In the story the cannibals could represent the actual Chinese society, while the madman represents the members of the society.  Also, the madman makes it clear that in order to even understand cannibalism, or the society in comparison, “you really have to study something before you can understand it” (1922).  In the story, the madman feels as if everyone is looking at him with “green faces and protruding fangs” that want to eat him (1922); in comparison, he may feel as if the Chinese society is constantly devouring the members of its society.  Also, the madman says that he saw the words “benevolence, righteousness, and morality” written across every page, but yet “eat people” was what was really written between the lines (1923).  This could serve as a crucial example of the Chinese society; the words found could represent what the society wanted you to think, but yet there was something written between the lines that they truly did not want the members to see.  Throughout the story, the madman is realizing that even his own brother, along with many others, were becoming cannibals (1924); this example shows that many people did not have the courage to stand up against the Chinese society.  Towards the end of the story, the madman is telling Old Fifth Chen that he can change and that in the future cannibalism will not be allowed, but if they do not change “a real human being’s going to come along” and get rid of the cannibals (1928).  I believe that example is one of the most significant in the story and can truly portray the Chinese society.  This example could shows that eventually the way of Chinese society will no longer be accepted, and because of this a more accepted society will come and get rid of the Chinese society.  Lu Xun does a wonderful job at implicitly portraying the negativities of the Chinese society in her story that is about cannibalism.  

Is the madman portrayed in the story really insane?  Why or why not?

Personally, I do not believe the madman in the story is insane.  In fact, I believe he is saner than those around him.  Throughout the story I felt as if the other characters tried to make the madman seem as if he was insane so that they could actually cover up their true insanity.  For example, he is the only one in the story that is sane enough to have the courage to not become like everyone else, cannibals.  The madman writes in his diary that these cannibals “camouflage their real intentions” probably so that no one will think that they are insane (1924).  Also, in the story it is the madman who appears to be the only one that thinks that cannibalism is immoral because he questioned a cannibal whether or not the business of eating people is right (1926).  It is the person that he questions that denies that such a thing is happening, but then agrees that it is; this could show that he was trying to cover up his insanity by saying cannibalism does not even occur.  Although the reader may instantly infer that the writer of this diary is the one insane because of the title, Diary of a Madman, he seems to have more sanity than the other characters in the story.

Child's Play

What were some of the main motifs that can be seen throughout Child’s Play?

One of the main motifs that can be seen throughout this story is pride.  A sense of pride is revealed early in the story when it says that a boy would “sooner die than admit his father collected bills for a brothel” (1809).  This shows that the boy was concerned with his image of his family and did not want to hurt his pride by revealing the actions of his father.  Also, pride can especially be seen through the character Chokichi; the reader can instantly infer that pride is important to him because it refers to him as “cocky” (1810).  He also proves to the reader that pride is important to him because he goes to Nobu begging him to take sides with him because he is saying that he cannot lose to Shota and that he wants to “see to it that Shota eats his words” (1811).  Pride is revealed in the gangs because they constantly want to outdo one another by competing with each other.  The motif of pride adds a great amount of significance to the story.

Another motif that can greatly be seen throughout this story is a childhood that appears to be lost.  This motif is proven when it is said that Midori was from the Daikokuya which was where her sister was a prostitute (1812).  Because she grew up around prostitution, the reader can instantly infer that she did not have what we consider a childhood.  The things that she had as a child, such as the pocketbook, were given to her because of the success of her sister’s prostitution.  Therefore, Midori probably viewed prostitution as something positive as a child because she was able to get certain things (pocketbook, ball, doll).  It is also said that when she was not in school or learning, she was typically “on her own: lolling around her sister’s room for half the day, playing in the streets the other half” (1813).  Because of that, the reader can infer that her childhood was not like what we consider a childhood to be.  She did not appear to have any guidance from her parents, but was instead just expected to do things on her own.  Because of this, it ultimately leads to the motif of a lost childhood.

What can be inferred about the role of women in Child’s Play?

            One of the main roles of women that can be inferred from the story is prostitution.  In the story, it seems as if women viewed prostitution as a job that was acceptable during the time.  For example, it said in the story that customs there were “indeed a little different,” which could possibly infer that things one may usually see as unacceptable were seen as acceptable there (1808).  After that is said, it goes on to say that girls of only fifteen or sixteen were participating in prostitution.  A women could probably not escape prostitution due to the influence in the society and also because they probably did not know better.  In the story it even questions as to how the children could escape being influenced if it is something that they have always been around (1809).  Although prostitution is seen as negative today, it was the role of women in Child’s Play due to societal influence.

            It could also be inferred that one of the roles of women in the story is simply to satisfy.  For example, it says that “wives rub good-luck flints behind them to protect their men from harm” (1808); therefore, they are trying to satisfy their husbands and keep them safe.  Also, the story states that daughters were often servants for people, which ultimately a servant is used to satisfy whoever they are serving.  The most obvious example of the women’s role being to satisfy is that of prostitution.  It seems as if these women may view prostitution as a job, but their job’s purpose is to satisfy someone in a sexual way.  Although the women may not have known it then because it was what they thought was acceptable and what they had to do, it seems as if one of their main roles was to satisfy others, especially men.

Emily Dickinson 1

Poem #449

Likes:  I liked that the poem referenced to two people dying for "Beauty" and "Truth," because both beauty and truth are things that can be seen in today's society.  I like how Dickenson described the room that her tomb lain in had an adjoining room; that helped the reader to get a better sense of the physical location of this poem.  I also like how she said that "He questioned softly," this allows me to actually imagine the words coming from his mouth and possibly the mood that he was in.

Dislikes:  I do not like how Dickinson said things in a different manner; for example the man questions the woman as to why she failed, rather than just asking her why she died.  I believe she blurs what she is saying in a sense, or maybe she just does not want to sound so abrupt.  I personally did not like that the poem was about death; I do not believe that death is something that the typical person enjoys reading about. 

Puzzles:  I was confused as to why certain words were capitalized such as "Beauty," "Truth," "Room," "One," "Moss," and "Night."  I assumed that each one of those words must have some significance in the poem, but I was unable to understand what exactly their significance was.  I also did not understand why the man in the poem considered "Beauty" and "Truth" the same because he says that they are "Brethren."  I did not understand what it is that Dickenson wants the reader to get from this poem.

Connections and Motifs:  I found the motifs of beauty, truth, and death as I read this poem.  I believe that Dickenson might be trying to show people that "Beauty" and "Truth" could possibly lead to negative things.  In her case, she made them lead to death.  This poem can also connect to Dickenson's poem #712 because in both poems the main subject is of death, although each poem has their own meaning.

Poem #712

Likes:  I like that the speaker of the poem was okay with the thought of death, it did not seem like it was something that frightened her.  I find personification fascinating, so I like when Dickenson used personification when she said that "We passed the Setting Sun-/Or rather-He passed Us."  I like how Dickenson described this passage of death, because she did not make it seem as if it is something negative at all.  Overall, I thought the poem itself was very interesting and unique, so I liked it.

Dislikes:  I did not like that rhyme only occurred almost randomly, with no set pattern.  For example, the second and fourth line of stanza one have an end rhyme with "me" and "Immortality," but yet in the third stanza the second and fourth line come nowhere close to an end rhyme with "Ring" and "Sun."  I believe that the random rhyme almost made the poem hard to follow.  I also do not like how there are so many symbols used in the poem, like "School," "Children," "Gazing Grain," and "Setting Sun."  I believe that if the reader does not truly take the time to think about the poem and its symbols, then the reader will probably not understand the meaning of the poem and what each symbol stands for.

Puzzles:  Just as I was in poem #449, I was confused as to why certain words were capitalized, even though I know they play some role of significance.  Although I liked the fact the speaker was okay with death, I was also baffled by that because many people are mortified with even the thought of death.  I did not understand why the author chose the certain symbols that she did to represent different times in a person's life.  I was not sure whether or not Dickenson was trying to show the reader that they should be okay with the fact of death, or whether or not she was just simply giving the reader a poem to read with no overall theme that the reader should take from it.

Connections and Motifs:  I found the motif of this poem as contentment and death.  I thought that these were two of the motifs because the speaker seemed to be okay with the fact that she could not stop "Death."  This poem can also connect to Dickenson's poem #449 because they both involve death, and in both poems the speakers do not seem to be upset about death.

Poem #1593

Likes:  I liked that this poem was about a storm that had happened in the speaker's life that she had survived.  I also liked that this poem could possibly have multiple meanings; it may not be a literal storm that the speaker went through, but possibly just a bad time in her life.  I really liked how Dickenson described the wind as a "Bugle" and said that "It quivered through the Grass" because it truly helps the reader to imagine what the wind was really like.  I also like how she describes the tress as "panting Trees," this also helps the reader to truly visualize the scene.  I believe that Dickenson did a really good and effective job trying to get her reader to in fact visualize the scene that she was writing about; her use of imagery definitely promoted her poem.

Dislikes:  I did not like that all the thoughts of the poem were composed into one larger stanza.  I believe that poems are easier to understand, and even read, when they are broken into smaller stanzas.  I did not like the author's repeated use of "And" as a transition; I believe that it became too repetitive and she could have possibly chosen another word so that her audience would not get bored.

Puzzles:  Just as I was in poem #449 and #712, I was confused as to why certain words were capitalized, even though I know they serve some sort of importance.  I was also puzzles as to whether or not the speaker was talking about a literal storm or just a struggle that she was facing at a point in her life.

Connections and Motifs:  I believe that the main motif of this poem is a storm or some type of struggle that the speaker was faced with.  Although this poem does not reference death like poem #449 and #712 do, I still believe that they can connect in some way because they are talking about some sort of darker aspect.  For example, death is the darker aspect in poem #449 and #712, but the storm/struggle is the darker aspect in this poem.

Notes from Underground 1

What is the significance of Fyodor Dostoevsky using first person point of view?  Also, what is the significance of the speaker referring to his audience as "you" and "gentlemen"?
  In Notes from Underground, the author uses first person point of view to address his readers.  It seems as if he is using first person point of view because he is dwelling on things that has happened throughout his forty years of life.  It is instantly known that the story is going to involve himself because, in the very first sentence, he says that "I am a sick man... I am a spiteful man" (1307).  One can also infer that he is talking about his own life throughout the chapters because he constantly is using the word "I" and how he feels about certain situations.  The use of first person point of view is significant because it goes to show that he is dwelling upon things that his happened throughout his life and he is providing the audience with his personal opinions; for example, he tells the audience that he thinks that "only fools and rascals" live over forty years, that "being overly conscious is a disease," that "normal man is supposed to be stupid," and that man does horrible things because "he doesn't know his own true interest" (1308, 1309, 1317).  Because the story is written in first person, the audience can assume that all of these things are only his opinions based upon his life because he is using himself as an example throughout the story.  He does not provide reliable evidence to prove his opinions, instead he just uses his own life or a made up example.  Ultimately, the use of first person point of view was significant because it was able to truly capture his thoughts, emotions, and opinions; without this point of view, the audience may not have been able to truly know exactly how the speaker felt.
The first person point of view used in this story truly reveals who exactly the speaker is.
  Throughout Notes from Underground, the speaker often refers to his audience as "you" and "gentlemen."  For example, he states in the beginning of Chapter Two, "Now I would like to tell you, gentlemen, whether or not you want to hear it, why it is that I Couldn't even become an insect" (1309).  It seems as if he is addressing the audience directly by using the word "you" in order to create a closeness between them.  I feel that not only does he want a closeness between himself and the audience, but he truly wants them to put them in the situations he is talking about.  For example, he says that "Well, even if you reach the same result with consciousness, that is, having nothing left to do, at least you'll be able to flog yourself from time to time, and that will liven things up a bit" (1325); in that statement is asserting the audience into what he is talking about, possibly in hopes that they will truly try to see where he is coming from.  I also believe that the speaker often addressed his audience directly because he wanted a personal attention from them.  For example, he states that "I suspect, gentlemen, that you're looking at me with compassion" (1321); the speaker is instantly assuming that his audience is giving him attention because he thinks that they are looking at him with compassion.  Not only does he address his audience directly by using the word "you," but he also constantly uses "gentlemen."  By doing this, one can possibly infer that the author only intended for men to read this certain story, or even that he thought only men could possibly understand what the speaker is speaking about.  Also, it is possible that during the time period this work was written that women did not play such an important role in the affairs that the story composes of.  The speaker's use of directedness towards the audience plays a great significance throughout the story.

Just like Charles made excuses for the occurrences in his life in Madame Bovary, Fyodor Dostoevsky seems to do the same thing in his Notes from Underground.  How does he do this and what impact does it have?
          Throughout Notes from Underground, the speaker constantly seems to make justifications for negative behavior.  For example, in Chapter Two he is talking about how he could not become of anything at all, but then later he states that "But the main thing and the final point is that all of this was taking place according to normal and fundamental laws of overly acute consciousness and of the inertia which result directly from these laws; consequently, not only couldn't one change, one simply couldn't do anything at all" (1310).  It seems as if, instead of him blaming himself for not becoming anything, he is blaming these certain "laws" that he refers to.  The speaker seems to think that these "laws" are certain and that they do not care what you may want, but that you are "obliged" to accept them "as it is" because they will not change (1312-1313).  It is almost as if he believes that these "laws" are fate and are the reason that things happen the way that they do and the reason that the speaker acts the way that he does.  He states that it "was these very laws that continually hurt me during my entire life," therefore, the audience can instantly infer that he is blaming the hurt that happened during his life on these "laws," although it was he himself who probably was the cause of the hurt he endured (1314).  The speaker's use of justifying his negative actions by blaming certain "laws" plays a great impact upon the story.  It impacts the story because it could possibly make the audience see the speaker as a weak character who cannot admit to even his own downfalls without having an excuse.  It almost appears as if the speaker is afraid to reveal him true self since he is consistently blaming "laws."  Just as Charles blamed "fate" for the occurrences in his life in Madame Bovary, the speaker of Notes from Underground seemed to blame "laws" for the negative occurrences of his own life; therefore, they both had justifications for their lives, rather than placing the blame where it truly needed to be placed.

Madame Bovary 3/Kugelmass 1

How does the last section of Madame Bovary further reveal Emma’s conceitedness?

            Emma’s conceitedness is revealed to the audience throughout the entire story, but it is even further revealed in the last section.  Throughout the story, it is made obvious that Emma is only concerned with her own feelings and is not happy with her own marriage; because she is not happy with her own marriage, she tries to find this happiness elsewhere by having affairs.  In Part Two, Chapter XV Emma sees Léon when she and Charles are at the theater and she instantly became not so interested with the theater.  For example, it says “from that moment on Emma no longer listened to the music,” she instead “recalled the card games at the pharmacist’s and the walk to the wet nurse’s, their readings under the arbor, the tête-à-têtes beside the fire – the whole poor story their love, so quiet and so long, so discreet, so tender, and yet discarded from her memory” (1225). This reveals that she is only concerned with herself because instead of focusing on the play that her husband brought her to, she is only concerned with the thought of Léon and the love that they shared.  Also in Part Three, Chapter IV Emma seems to become “intensely musical,” but she believes she is not good enough and needs lessons that they cannot afford (1245).  Eventually Charles tells Emma that he thinks she could be able to take lessons every now and then, but she insists that they will not be worth taking unless she takes them regularly; Charles gives in her wishes.  The piano lessons reveal her self-centeredness because she does not really want the piano lessons that Charles will be paying for, she instead just wants to be able to travel to the city once a week so she could see Léon (1246).  In Part Three, Chapter VI Emma becomes infuriated that Léon was late to their “appointment,” so when Léon finally went to meet her she was gone and she suddenly saw him as someone negative (1259).  This shows that she is only worried about herself because when things did not go her way and Léon did not show up on time she instantly became infuriated and focused only on his flaws.  She also appears self-centered in Part Three, Chapter VII when she drinks the poison (1279); this makes her appear conceited because she is committing suicide ultimately because she is not satisfied.  The last section of Madame Bovary reveals even further Emma’s sense of conceitedness.

How does the last section of Madame Bovary show that Charles is blind to what is happening in his own marriage?

            Charles has been blind to what is truly happening in his own marriage throughout the entire story, but it seems as if he is even further blinded in the last section.  In Part Three, Chapter II, Emma is persuaded by Lheureux to become Charles’s power of attorney in order to settle her debts, and of course, Charles agrees (1242).  Charles agrees to let her do so because he does not know what is truly going on.  In Part Three, Chapter IV when Emma “obtained her husband’s permission to go to the city once a week” because he believes that she is going to take piano lessons that he is paying for, but in reality she is not, she is going to see Léon (1246).  This shows that Charles is blind to what is really going on because he is paying for her to go to the city once a week and she is simply just using his money as an excuse to have an affair with Léon.  In Part Three, Chapter V Charles tells Emma that he spoke with her piano teacher, but that she did not even know Emma, but Emma insists that she must have just forgotten her name.  Charles, once again being blind to what is truly going on, instantly thinks of other possibilities, like there might be “more than one Mademoiselle Lempereur in Rouen who teaches piano” (1251).  Emma also says that she has her receipts, which are forged, and Charles instantly believes her lies.  Throughout the last section of Madame Bovary, Emma is consistently using Charles’s money for her and Léon although they are in debt, to the point that she is selling many of Charles’s items in order to attempt to pay off this debt she has created.  In Part Three, Chapter VI Emma is also sending bills to Charles’s patients so that she can obtain their money to put toward paying off her debt (1262).  Charles is unaware that she is doing that and also at how in debt they are.  In Part Three, Chapter XI Charles found the letter in the attic that Rodolphe had written her, but he makes himself believe that “they only loved each other platonically” (1296).  Therefore, he was blinded to the truth, even though the truth was right before his eyes.  His blindness to his own marriage left him with many responsibilities; for example, he was now responsible for all the debts she caused him to have.  Because of his inability to realize what was truly going on in his marriage, he becomes severely depressed when he finds out the truth after Emma died, which leads to his own death.

How are the motifs and ideas of “The Kugelmass Episode” similar to the motifs and ideas of Madame Bovary?

            Both Kugelmass and Emma appear to have similar character traits, although they are from different time periods.  Both Kugelmass and Emma display the motif of unhappiness.  Both characters appear to be unhappy with their own marriage, so they have the idea that they must find romance and love elsewhere.  Because of their idea of “love,” it leads them to both revealing the motif of adultery; both characters have multiple affairs.  For example, in “The Kugelmass Episode” Kugelmass has an affair with Emma and then goes back to Persky because he wants to have another affair, and in Madame Bovary Emma has affairs with Rodolphe and Léon.  The affairs that Kugelmass and Emma have in the stories lead to them having the idea that they must be secretive and deceitful so no one will find out what they are truly doing; they lie to their spouse of where they are going, when they are truly going to be with their lover.  Both Kugelmass’s wife and Emma’s husband both suspect that they are acting different, but they both lie and assure them that they are doing nothing wrong.  In both “The Kugelmass Episode” and Madame Bovary, Emma and Kugelmass have the idea that the affairs are their reality of happiness and they believe that spending endless amounts of money in their affairs made them happy, which, in return, makes both characters obtain a debt to a certain extent.  Also, in both stories they believe they hold the idea that novels depict the perfect love.  For example, in “The Kugelmass Episode” Kugelmass wants to have an affair with a character in a novel because he believes that will bring him happiness.  Also, in Madame Bovary, Emma has unrealistic ideas about love because she constantly wants to find a love like the ones she reads about in novels.  Therefore, both “The Kugelmass Episode” and Madame Bovary reveal the motif of unrealistic expectations.  By reading both stories, it is revealed that “The Kugelmass Episode” and Madame Bovary share many of the same central motifs and ideas that are crucial to both stories plot.