astic life. Brombert says these images had a dual purpose, conveying "a contempt for the 'world,' since the ideal is unattainable here and now. . . but also a positive and almost maniacal devotion to the austere joys of study and work" (Brombert 15).
Solitude was for Flaubert a stimulation to the mind, allowing his imagination to operate and to crete worlds he could then place on paper. Indeed, he talked of the true "debaucheries" of the mind that were possible in such circumstances, and this points to another duality in his life and his work:
The monastic tendencies point to an inherent idealism; but they also imply carnal and intemperate velleities. This almost mystic voluptuousness is one of the keys to Flaubert's temperament and to his work (Brombert 15).
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