Madame Bovary

A dreamy farmer's daughter married a disappointing doctor, bored in the countryside, took lovers, became indebted and killed herself. Flaubert took up the challenge of this banal subject. Madame Bovary did not only say that all the dissatisfied women were sick, from the "unmarried" of the 19th century to the "desperate housewives" of the 21st century American soap operas. This novel turned one of the greatest human dramas into a masterpiece: to miss one's life.