Gustave Flaubert, a major French author, wrote his first work, Madame Bovary, in 1856. Originally from Rouen, France, Flaubert often incorporates aspects of society French, including the roles of women, in the novel. Because of the way Flaubert portrayed Emma Bovary, the protagonist, in the novel, the French government deemed the literary work immoral and brought Flaubert to trial. Flaubert also includes landscapes of his hometown and the surrounding Normandy area. In fact, Flaubert parallels the setting to mimic Emma's personality. Flaubert demonstrates Emma's constraint within her marriage through the opening of windows, foreshadows her failures through water imagery, and defines her fate through free indirect style or the narrator's awareness within the space. Flaubert places Emma's constant opening and closing of windows to symbolize her escape from marriage. Emma often opens the windows to free herself from the restrictions of her marriage to Charles, which she finds boring and peasant. Flaubert writes, “She came to the window to greet him [Charles] and remained leaning on the windowsill between two pots of geranium, dressed in her dressing gown which hung loosely on her” (22). Emma's lack of emotion as Charles prepares for his journey shows her longing for another love. Usually, a happily married wife mourns the absence of her husband or even cries and shouts a long and heartfelt goodbye, but Emma does nothing of the sort. Emma faces the situation with a stern attitude. Because of her lifeless attitude towards Charles, Emma has hope of realizing her life dreams. This opportunity comes at the beginning of the agricultural story. Flaubert describes Emma “looking out of the window; he was often there. The window in the province replaces... half of the paper... business and excessive spending in Yonville contribute to his death as he performs these tasks to satisfy his desire for true love. In conclusion, Flaubert describes Emma's personality through the openness of windows, images of water, and through free indirect style. Flaubert portrays many of Emma's flaws, the reason for her trial in the late 1800s because the French government deemed it immoral. During this time, women followed strict social rules that prohibited them from getting divorced or running businesses. Flaubert exploits these ideals through Emma as she desires true love outside of her unhappy marriage and how she achieves this. Emma has an affair with Leon and Roldolphe, something the townspeople disapprove of and feel Emma is compromising herself. Works Cited Flaubert, Gustave. Mrs. Bovary. Trans. Eleonora Marx Aveling. Mineola (NY): Dover, 1996.