DELIGHTFUL SATURDAYS WITH MY FAVORITE AUTHORS AND POETS (65)

GUSTAVE FLAUBERT

( Image with info: Wikipedia)

Gustave Flaubert was a French Novelist who introduced the concept of Literary Realism in France and the rest of the world. Literary Realism refers to the reflection of subject matter accurately while avoiding speculative fiction and magical aspects. It is a subset of the larger realism in the arts movement.

Gustave Flaubert was born on 12 December 1821 at Rouen, Normandy, Kingdom of France. His parents were Anne Justine Caroline (née Fleuriot; 1793–1872) and Achille-Cléophas Flaubert (1784–1846), director and senior surgeon of the major hospital in Rouen. His passion for writing began as early as the age of eight as per the information revealed by some sources.

He received his formal education at Lycée Pierre-Corneille, Rouen until 1940 and moved to Paris to study law. He was a disinterested student in Paris and thought the place was unpleasant. He met a few people, Victor Hugo among them. He travelled to Corsica and the Pyrenees toward the end of 1840. After experiencing an epileptic seizure in 1846, he fled Paris and gave up on his legal studies.

Flaubert was romantically involved with Louise Colet from 1846 to 1854. His letters to her during the said period are still there to confirm the relationship. He moved back to Croisset, close to Rouen and the Seine, after leaving Paris, where he spent the rest of his life. He did, however, occasionally travel to England and Paris, where it appears that he had a mistress.

He never married or had children. However, he had an active sexual life with both male and female prostitutes. His biographer Émile Faguet states that Colet was his only true love. He shared a warm relationship with his niece, Caroline Commanville and George Sand with whom he also exchanged correspondence. His circle of friends included Émile Zola, Alphonse Daudet, Ivan Turgenev, and Edmond and Jules de Goncourt.

Flaubert went through a difficult year in 1870s.His mother passed away in 1872, and throughout the War of 1870, Prussian soldiers were living in his home. He ran into financial problems after her passing as a result of his niece’s husband’s economic difficulties. For the majority of his life, Flaubert battled venereal illnesses. His health continued to deteriorate. He passed away on 8 May 1880 (aged 58) at Croisset (Canteleu), Rouen, French Third Republic, due to cerebral hemorrhage.

His most popular works include :