Flaubert
The Esthete
Madame Bovary, it is me. Gustave searched for the right word. Hours for a sentence. Perfection as the horizon.
12
Quotes
9
Themes
0
Era
Life and journey
Gustave passsed nights searching for 'the right word'.
Their thought
Impersonality of art. author as invisible. style as force.
What they leave us
invented the modern novel. nobility of the form.
Major works
Madame Bovary (1857).
Sentimental Education (1869).
Filter by themes:
12 quotes
“Madame Bovary, c'est moi.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“Madame Bovary, that's me.”
— Inconnu
“Le génie n'est qu'une longue patience.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“Genius is nothing but long patience.”
— Inconnu
“L'avenir nous tourmente, le passé nous retient, c'est pour ça que le présent nous échappe.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“The future torments us, the past holds us back, that's why the present escapes us.”
— Correspondance
“La parole humaine est comme un chaudron fêlé où nous battons des mélodies à faire danser les ours, quand on voudrait attendrir les étoiles.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap out tunes to make bears dance, when we would move the stars to pity.”
— Madame Bovary
“Écris pour toi-même, c'est la seule façon d'écrire pour tout le monde.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“Write for yourself, it's the only way to write for everyone.”
— Correspondance
“L'avenir nous tourmente, le passé nous retient.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“The future torments us, the past holds us back.”
— Inconnu
“La parole humaine est comme un chaudron fêlé.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“Human speech is like a cracked kettle.”
— Inconnu
“Écris pour toi-même.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“Write for yourself.”
— Inconnu
“Il n'y a pas de vérité, il n'y a que des perceptions.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“There is no truth, there are only perceptions.”
— Inconnu
“Le coeur est une richesse qui ne se vend pas, mais qui s'offre.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“The heart is a wealth that is not sold, but offered.”
— Inconnu
“Soyez réglé dans votre vie et ordinaire comme un bourgeois, afin d'être violent et original dans votre oeuvre.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”
— Inconnu
“L'art est un luxe ; il veut des mains blanches et calmes.”
Original quote in French
Suggested translation
“Art is a luxury; it wants white and calm hands.”
— Inconnu
