Whether Flaubert was a feminist or not, he definitely is sympathetic to women's concerns in Madame Bovary. This concern is not political or social, but rather psychological and emotional, and is expressed not in the hope of changing or improving women's position in society, but in order to show the tragic heroism of one particular woman who is willing to follow her dream even though it leads to disaster.
While Flaubert is sympathetic to Emma, the great complexity with which he portrays her suggests that he does not pretend to completely understand her. Nevertheless, it is clear that Flaubert relishes Emma's awakening as a woman and does not judge her for the excesses she shows later which lead directly or indirectly to her death as well as to the death of her husband. To Flaubert, Emma is a partially imprisoned creature (at least psychologically, emotionally and spiritually) who ultimately is freed, or frees herself, and the liberation seems to be worth the price in this reader's view. Emma's life is tragic, to be sure, but how much more tragic would it have been had she lived her life entrapped in the traditional woman's role as servant to her husband?
Almost every scene bespeaks the author's appreciation of Emma as a woman who both fears and delights in her awakening as a woman and as a human being. In the waltz scene (59), for example, the reader is informed that Emma "had never waltzed" and that "Everyone else was waltzing." She is left out, and somewhat frightened at trying something she had never done, but she is willing to at least try. The immediate reaction is thrilling for Emma, but then her hem catches on her partner's pants and humiliation appears certain, However, they resume dancing and when she sits there is no doubt that she has been impassioned by the experience: "She sank back with her head against the wall, and put her hand over her eyes" (59).
The conservative reader may judge Emma for her emotional and ...