A Simple Heart

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) (about 9 min.) Please feel free to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK8lZO39T-0

Flaubert’s short story, “A Simple Heart” (1877, translated by Arthur McDowall. “A Simple Soul” in different translation) is one of the stories in his  Three Tales.

Flaubert’s short story, “A Simple Heart” (1877) is one of the representative realist stories. While reading “A Simple Heart,” I want you to think about why Flaubert has chosen an uneducated servant like Felicite as the central character in this story and whether her lack of knowledge (e.g. books and other worlds) and her ignorance of the Bible matters.

Felicite’s lack of knowledge was mocked by Monsieur Bourais (he was a lawyer) who has a vast knowledge of books and the world. Please pay attention to the life and death of Felicite and compare her life to Monsieur Bourais’s (as well as the life/death of Madam Aubain).

Discussion Question #1 for Flaubert’s “A Simple Heart” (1877, pp. 436-450)

1 . What does Felicite do for Madame Aubain and how does Felicite save Madame Aubain and her children (Paul and Virginie) from a bull’s attack, and what does she think of her own action? Why was Felicite “the envy of the ladies of Pont-l’Eveque” (436) for fifty years? What happened to Felicite’s love affair with Theodore? Why do you think Felicite has not dated anyone else (although she was only 18 years old at that time) after her affair with Theodore (after her consensual sex trusting Theodore who promised to marry her and “swore great oaths of his fidelity” 438)? Does Felicite have a good moral sense? Why did she spend the rest of her life for others since then? How would you describe her as a servant and as an individual?

2. When Felicite took Virginie to Church, Felicite also listens to the priest’s lesson on the Bible: “Then she wept at the story of the Passion. The sowings, harvest, wine-presses, all the familiar things the Gospel speaks of, were a part of her life. . . She loved the lambs more tenderly for her love of the Lamb, and the doves because of the Holy Ghost” (443). What do you make of Felicite’s understanding of the Bible and the Holy Ghost? Does Flaubert make fun of Felicite’s lack of knowledge of the Bible? Or, do you think Flaubert mocks religion through Felicite? Is Felicite religious? (What does it mean to be religious?) How would you describe Felicite’s life so far? Does Felicite try to enrich herself by working hard or does she devote her life to others?

3. When Felicite took Virginie to Church, Felicite also listens to the priest’s lesson on the Bible: “Then she wept at the story of the Passion. The sowings, harvest, wine-presses, all the familiar things the Gospel speaks of, were a part of her life. . . She loved the lambs more tenderly for her love of the Lamb, and the doves because of the Holy Ghost” (443). What do you make of Felicite’s understanding of the Bible and the Holy Ghost? Does Flaubert make fun of Felicite’s lack of knowledge of the Bible? Or, do you think Flaubert mocks religion through Felicite? Is Felicite religious? (What does it mean to be religious?) How would you describe Felicite’s life so far? Does Felicite try to enrich herself by working hard or does she devote her life to others?