Madame Bovary's Troublemaker
...kes the only control of his life that he ever does in the whole book, when he marries Emma and moves to Tostes with her for a new life. Despite the move and attempt at a new life, Charles maintains his poor character throughout the remainder of the novel in his love life, finances, and even his doctoral practice. Charles doctoral practices reflect his poor character and his lack of control in both the way that he practices and his capabilities as a doctor. Since Charles only became a second rate doctor, he is only able to deal with simple cases thus showing that although he can fix simple problems, he can not control more complicated problems and is unable to perform surgical operations. This is shown most in Charles’ failed attempt to operate on Hippolyte’s clubfoot, resulting in the amputation of his leg. Also, when Charles goes to Rouault's house to observe his leg earlier in the novel, we learn that he is trying desperately to "call to mind all the fractures he [knows]," showing that Charles is not even on top of his own job. Charles’ lack of control over his finances also reflects his poor character. Charles leaves all of his finances to Emma, never realizing that she is spending his money ravenously and putting them both into deep debt. This lack of control leads not only to Charles’ eventual downfall, but also reflects his poor character in the control of his life. Charles’ lack of control is probably most vividly shown in his love life, especially in his relationship with Emma. Charles is a very superficial person in that he only sees the physical aspects of Emma. He never explores her personality. This is shown when the narrative focuses on Charles’ point of view, only focusing on the details of Emma’s dress, skin, and hair, not on anything beyond Emma’s literal existence ...