Madame Bovary is an investigation of the society and culture of the Middle-Class in France during the Nineteenth Century. The Industrial Revolution came about in this time period, resulting in the greatest change for Western civilization. The revolution began in England, then scattered throughout Europe and then beyond. Liberty was the developed thought of society. Technologies such as transportation took a great leap, creating vast communication between countries, which had formally been a set back for further advances. Overall, people greatly prospered in result of the developments. The Middle-Class and the morals that they held started taking value as well as their involvement with politics being felt. In terms of literature, Realism was the form of writing in which many authors sought pursuing. Unlike the Romantic Movement, which took place prior to Realism, realist authors merely wanted a simple representation of contemporary reality. While much of Nineteenth Century realism imitates the accomplishments of the Middle-Classes, Flaubert took a different approach. He openly had distaste for the Middle-Class, and the values that were of importance to them. Madame Bovary is an illustration of life in a small village in France throughout the eighteen forties. Characters such as Emma and Charles Bovary, and Homais make Flaubert's distaste extremely evident. Emma is portrayed to be lost in her romantic imaginations of a life she does not live. Charles, Emma's .
husband is seen as content, however, boring and dull. Homais is illustrated as self-centered and an egotistical man, with visions of his image to society leading his way of life. Gustave Flaubert emphasizes a distinct position concerning the Middle-Class, conveying his pessimistic judgments on their values through his novel.
Flaubert begins the novel with a look at Charles Bovary's childhood. His father was retired from the military. He seemed content with his life as a member of the Middle-Class, showing no ambitions to move up in the social latter.