Close Readings Who's afraid of realism?: 'Madame Bovary' by Gustave Flaubert (part one)
Jan 6, 2026
James Wood dives into the intricate world of realism as seen through Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary'. He explores the tools of realism, such as impersonal narration and lifelike dialogue, while discussing the fears critics have about its constraining nature. The conversation touches on the infamous scalpel metaphor and the political insights realism offers, alongside historical critiques from notable figures. Throughout, Wood illustrates the tension between embracing and resisting realism, tracing its evolution and relevance in literature today.
21:11
Realism Seeks The Veridical
- Realism aims to present a veridical, recognizable world through plausible events and familiar details.
- James Wood says realism builds a grammar of techniques to make fiction feel true.
Flaubert's Grammar Of Realism
- Flaubert refined realism's techniques: telling detail, impersonal narration, lifelike dialogue, and free indirect style.
- Wood argues these techniques form a lasting 'grammar of realism' that other writers inherited.
Bovary's Trial And Marx's Praise
- Madame Bovary was prosecuted for obscenity soon after publication but Flaubert was acquitted.
- Wood notes Karl Marx praised realist writers for revealing political and social truths.
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Intro
00:00 • 31sec
Realism: lowercase and capital R
00:31 • 1min
The grammar and techniques of realism
02:00 • 4min
Why writers fear and resist realism
05:34 • 1min
The scalpel image and political threat
07:02 • 2min
Periodic rebellions against realism
09:00 • 4min
The enduring hunger for the real
13:17 • 1min
Flaubert's Madame Bovary and its origins
14:42 • 6min
Outro
20:35 • 49sec
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imagination, the decline of chivalry, and the human condition.
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Gustave Flaubert recalled in a letter that the critic Sainte-Beuve compared his style to a surgeon’s scalpel, an image taken from 'Madame Bovary'. This was not a compliment: Sainte-Beuve was anxious about the ambition of Flaubert’s ‘realism’ to cut to the bone of its characters and society at large. Karl Marx, on the other hand, praised realist writers who ‘issued to the world more political and social truths than have been uttered by all the professional politicians, publicists, and moralists put together’.
In the first episode of his new series, James Wood considers the fears and criticisms that have dogged realism from its emergence in the 19th century through its long history of transformations up to the present day. He examines the ways in which Flaubert used detail (both significant and significantly insignificant), impersonal narration, lifelike dialogue and free indirect style to create realism’s essential grammar.
This is part one of Wood’s analysis of 'Madame Bovary', going up to the moment that Emma meets Rodolphe Boulanger. He uses Geoffrey Wall's translation, published by Penguin Classics.
This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up:
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Read more in the LRB:
Julian Barnes: Flaubert at Two Hundred https://lrb.me/realismep101
Two Letters from Flaubert to Colet: https://lrb.me/realismep102
Tim Parks on Flaubert's life: https://lrb.me/realismep103