A Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert

First published:L’Éducation sentimentale, 1869 (English translation, 1898)

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Naturalism

Time of plot: Nineteenth century

Locale: France

Principal Characters

• Frederic Moreau, a young student
• Monsieur Arnoux, a businessman
• Madame Arnoux, his wife
• Monsieur Dambreuse, a banker
• Madame Dambreuse, his wife
• Rosanette, a mistress of many
• Deslauriers, Frederic’s friend
• Louise Roque, Frederic’s neighbor

The Story

In 1840, the boat down the Seine to Nogent has among its passengers Frederic Moreau, who is returning home after finishing his course at the Collège de Sens and who has the prospect of a long vacation before beginning his law studies in Paris. Seeing on the boat an older man whose conversation is eagerly followed by a group of admirers, Frederic draws closer to hear what is being said. In a most worldly fashion, Monsieur Arnoux is holding forth on the subject of women. He notices Frederic in the circle, and after he finishes speaking, he introduces himself to the young man and the two promenade for some time on deck. Arnoux invites Frederic to call on him when he arrives in Paris.

Frederic then goes up to the first-class deck to sit and reflect on his homecoming. There he sees an attractive woman knitting; Frederic thinks she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. She is a little older than he and has a demure manner; she never once looks directly at him, though they are alone on the deck. Frederic moves several times to see her from different angles. Finally she drops her ball of yarn, and Frederic retrieves it; her murmur of thanks is pleasant to hear. A few minutes later, a little girl approaches, and he knows the child is the woman’s daughter. Then Arnoux appears on deck and Frederic learns that the woman is his wife. When the boat docks, he watches them drive away.

Madame Moreau, a widow, is glad to see her son; she has placed all her hopes in his future career in diplomacy. As soon as he decently can leave his mother, Frederic goes out to meet his friend Deslauriers, a young man who is also planning a legal career. The two friends discuss at great length their plans for their life in Paris in the fall.

When the time comes for Frederic to leave for Paris, a neighbor of the Moreaus, Monsieur Roque, gives him a letter for Monsieur Dambreuse, a rich Paris banker. Madame Moreau advises her son to call on Dambreuse as soon as he can, for the banker will be able to be of great help to a young lawyer. Bidding good-bye to his relatives and to his neighbor Louise Roque, a girl who has become his special friend during the summer, Frederic leaves for Paris and his studies at the university.

Deslauriers and Frederic take an apartment together and begin to attend lectures in law. Frederic finds it very difficult to keep his mind on his studies, however, for he thinks most of the time of Madame Arnoux. He finally receives an invitation to the Arnoux store, a large establishment dealing in paintings and other works of art. He is patient enough to establish an intimate relationship with Arnoux, hoping that eventually he will meet Arnoux’s wife.

One night, Arnoux invites Frederic to a masquerade ball, and there Arnoux introduces him to Rosanette, an attractive woman whom her friends call la Maréchale. Frederic is sure that Rosanette is Arnoux’s mistress. He is glad to learn about the liaison, thinking that it improves his chances of becoming friendly with Madame Arnoux.

When Frederic is finally invited to dine at the Arnoux home, he is happy to learn that Madame Arnoux remembers him perfectly. She is a friendly woman, but as time goes on Frederic sees little chance of his ever becoming more intimate with her. Even when he is regularly included in gatherings at the Arnoux country house, he makes no progress. He finally has to conclude that his friends are right: Madame Arnoux is a good woman.

So great is his preoccupation with the pursuit of Madame Arnoux that Frederic fails his examinations in the spring. Before he leaves for home he calls at the Dambreuse home, where he is well received. He vows to study hard, to forget about Madame Arnoux, and to try his luck in public life under the sponsorship of Monsieur Dambreuse. For a time, Frederic studies diligently and cultivates the Dambreuse family; he goes only occasionally to see Madame Arnoux. Eventually he passes his examinations, and he is admitted to the bar.

Before leaving Paris, he is included in a picnic held in honor of Madame Arnoux’s birthday. During the party she seems put out with her husband, but Arnoux shrugs off his wife’s pique and sends her back to the city with Frederic. As they leave, Arnoux gives his wife a bouquet, which she surreptitiously throws away. Thinking she has dropped it, Frederic picks it up and gives it to her in the carriage. As soon as they start off on their trip, she begs him to throw the flowers out the window. Never before has Frederic felt so close to her.

At Nogent, Frederic receives bad news: His mother’s income has dwindled considerably because of the troubled politics of monarchical France, and she has been forced to sell some of her lands. Henceforth she will have only enough to live frugally. A worse blow falls when Frederic’s rich uncle in Le Havre announces that he will not leave his wealth to Frederic. Feeling that he is ruined, with no income and no expectations, Frederic resigns himself to a dull life in Nogent and spends three years in almost complete idleness. His only friend is Louise Roque, who has grown into an attractive woman.

At last a telegram arrives to announce that the uncle in Le Havre has died without making a will and that Frederic is his only heir. Despite his mother’s remonstrances, Frederic hastily prepares to return to Paris. He declares his love for Louise before he leaves, but all the while he is thinking of Madame Arnoux.

In Paris, Frederic takes a fashionable apartment and settles down to a life of ease. He again becomes an intimate of the Arnoux household and renews his friendship with Deslauriers. He agrees to furnish the money to found a journal of political opinion, his intention being to give employment to Deslauriers and at the same time to control a publication that will support his own future career in politics. When he learns that Arnoux is pressed financially, he lends money to him on the strength of Arnoux’s promise to repay the debt in a few days. Arnoux never repays the money, however, and out of disappointment Deslauriers breaks off their friendship. Frederic consoles himself with his increasing intimacy with Madame Arnoux.

Little by little, Arnoux loses most of his money, and an oil company he founded goes bankrupt. He begins to spend less time at home and more with various mistresses. His wife becomes aware of his many affairs and turns to Frederic for sympathy. At last she agrees to meet him and spend an afternoon in his company.

With high hopes, Frederic rents a room for their rendezvous and fills it with expensive trinkets. He is to meet Madame Arnoux between 2:00 and 4:00, and on the appointed day he goes to the meeting place at 1:30. He waits until 6:30, but she does not appear. In despair he goes to see Rosanette, for to him it seems a just retaliation to make Arnoux’s mistress his own. Unknown to Frederic, Madame Arnoux has not kept the appointment because her son is ill. Taking his illness as a sign from heaven, she is ashamed of her interest in Frederic.

During the riots that attend the overthrow of the French monarchy and the establishment of the republic, Frederic spends the time agreeably enough in the country with Rosanette. He returns to Paris only after he receives word that one of his friends has been wounded. Louise Roque arrives in Paris with her father; she has traveled there chiefly to find out what has happened to Frederic. When she finally sees Frederic, she understands that he is no longer interested in her.

While continuing his affair with Rosanette, Frederic takes another mistress, Madame Dambreuse. When the banker dies, Frederic decides to marry his widow, but the canny Dambreuse has left his money to his niece. Frederic thereupon gives up all thought of marrying the widow.

Frederic has many loves, but none is permanent. When he is nearly fifty years old, Madame Arnoux comes to see him. They agree that they had been right not to love carnally. Deslauriers, who has been a lawyer for twenty-five years in Nogent, comes to visit Frederic, and they talk over the past. Deslauriers had married Louise Roque, but she ran away with a singer. The old friends conclude that love is fickle, selfish, unhappy—like life itself.

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