French Literature Reviews - 2026
É. Le Calvez. La Méthode est trouvée. Madame Bovary
Other Literary Studies
Eric Le Calvez,
La Méthode est trouvée. Madame Bovary,
Caen, Passage(s), 2021, « Essais ».
ISBN : 979-10-94898-77-2. 25 €.
After writing numerous "youthful" works, of which only two were published in 1837 in Le Colibri, a small local literary and artistic journal, Gustave Flaubert began writing The Temptation of Saint Anthony in May 1848. This proved to be a failure, according to his friends Maxime Du Camp and Louis Bouilhet, to whom he read it in September 1849. Tormented by anxieties about his literary future, he set off on October 29 for a long journey to the East with Du Camp. Upon his return, he began drafting Madame Bovary on September 19, 1851, and did not finish the novel until the spring of 1856. He spent nearly five years filling its pages with crossings-out, rewriting and correcting them over and over until he was finally satisfied with the result—often working deep into the night. Madame Bovary was published in six installments in the Revue de Paris between October 1 and December 15, 1856, before facing a sensational trial for outraging public and religious morals and common decency in early 1857. Following a fierce speech by Ernest Pinard, the Imperial Prosecutor, and a brilliant defense plea by Jules Senard, the author was acquitted on February 7, along with Léon Laurent-Pichat, the journal's editor-in-chief, and Auguste-Alexis Pillet, its printer. The novel was released as a volume by Michel Lévy in April to considerable acclaim. It was while writing these pages that Flaubert gradually discovered "the method" that he would continue to apply to his subsequent works, with only minor variations. This book, dedicated to the novel's numerous manuscripts, showcases the writer at work, laboring at length against what he himself termed "the agonizing torments of style."
Éric Le Calvez is a professor at Georgia State University (Atlanta) and an associate member of the 19th-Century Writings research team at the Institute for Modern Texts and Manuscripts (ITEM). A specialist in nineteenth-century prose, his research focuses primarily on Flaubert's oeuvre from the perspective of genetic poetics, examining the evolution of writing within draft manuscripts. He has published numerous studies on the subject.
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Passage(s)
Les Jardins de Carel
14 allée du Père Jamet
14000 Caen
The study of literary manuscripts, or genetic criticism, seeks to understand the creative process by analyzing the evolution of a text through its various drafts and revisions. This field of research highlights the transition from initial inspiration to the final version, revealing the labor behind canonical works. Readers interested in the history of the novel and the mechanics of literary composition may find this study of the author's creative trajectory relevant.
Flaubert's pursuit of stylistic perfection is a central theme in the history of French literature, often associated with his struggle to find the precise word. The transition from his earlier projects to the composition of Madame Bovary marks a pivotal moment in his career. This book is dedicated to the novel's numerous manuscripts and showcases the writer laboring at length against what he termed the agonizing torments of style.