Characters

**Madame Bovary**, also known as Emma, is the wife of Charles Bovary, an unknown French country doctor. Emma is young and beautiful, but she's frustrated with the social constraints her class status burdens on her. She desires the sophisticated lifestyles of rich men like Monsieur Boulanger and the Marquis d’Andervilliers, but lacks the wealth required for such indulgent habits. Her addiction to sensual romance novels stirs within her the search for the fiery passion missing from her own marriage. Emma finds her husband to be boring, mediocre, and clumsy, and she shows little affection for her little daughter, Berthe.

**Charles Bovary** is a local physician who has just moved with his wife to the town of Yonville. He is madly in love with Emma, and spoils her with tender compliments and whatever she desires. Charles possesses the manners of a gentleman, but he is only an average doctor, capable of the simplest procedures. He dreams of a peaceful life with his pretty wife and daughter, and is completely ignorant of the scandalous affairs Emma carries on throughout their marriage.

**Leon Dupuis** is a friendly law clerk who lives with Monsieur Homais and often visits the Bovary household for dinner. He falls in love with Emma, but escapes to Paris when he realizes the magnitude of obstacles in their relationship. He shares Emma's longing for romance, so when they reunite at an opera house in Rouen, a passionate affair ignites between them. They are undeniably attracted to each other, but Leon is often cautious considering their circumstances.

**Rodolphe Boulanger** is a wealthy landowner from Yonville, and the object of Emma's first extramarital affair. Her external beauty captivates the Monsieur Boulanger, who has had many mistresses before Emma. He's a selfish womanizer who knows exactly how to seduce Emma into submission. His disregard for Emma's feelings manifests itself when he abandons town to escape their clingy relationship.

**Monsieur Lheureux** is the sneaky merchant who leads Emma into debt. He knows well of Emma's weakness for elegant accessories and her inability to afford them, so he tricks her into signing, one after another, several loan contracts that she won't be able to pay off. He is motivated by greed and even the same drive for social stature that Emma has. He is an evil manipulator who eventually produces Emma's demise.

**Monsieur Homais**, the town apothecary, is a close friend of Charles'. He spends many evenings a week at the Bovary residence, chatting with Monsieur about the latest news. Most of the time though, //he// chats while Charles listens. His established reputation in town as the premiere medical counsel has made him arrogant and quite verbose. He tries to assist Charles in his own vocational endeavors, but usually causes trouble instead.