A Simple Heart (Style)

Style

Point of View

Critic Victor Brombert has said that Flaubert’s great accomplishment in “A Simple Heart” was that he presented a protagonist, or central character, who is completely inarticulate and uneducated, and yet he made the reader view things as she does. The author allowed the reader to view Félicité’s character from both the outside and the inside: from the outside, through the omniscient narrator’s impassive and factual account of events and of the attitudes of other characters towards her; from the inside, through the narrator’s reports of her thoughts, actions, and motives. The contrasts that are introduced between Félicité’s generous acts and thoughts and the generally self-centered and callous reactions of the more sophisticated characters around her create sympathy for the main character and an implied critique of her supposed superiors. Since the narrative voice never offers a direct opinion of the action, however, the reader is left to form his or her own interpretation of the story’s meaning.

Irony

Irony is a use of language in which the intended meaning appears to be different from what is directly stated. The narrative voice in “A Simple Heart,” for instance, may be seen as ironic because although it offers no direct commentary on the story, the evidence it reports builds sympathy for the main character and exposes the shallowness and egoism of those who exploit her.

The more subtle the irony, the more difficult it may be to determine exactly what is meant. Critics disagree about the extent and meaning of Flaubert’s use of irony in “A Simple Heart.” Much of Félicité’s behavior — such as her devotion to her parrot, which eventually approaches idolatry — is so simpleminded as to seem absurd. Yet Félicité herself is so selfless in her love and so unconquerable in her resistance to despair that to most readers she is a likable and sympathetic character; no matter how simple and naive her actions, she herself does not seem ridiculous.

Symbolism

Loulou is the most obvious symbol in the story, although there are many more. As a parrot, he can only repeat empty phrases, generally out of context, and thus he is a particularly ironic symbol as the vehicle through which Félicité should experience divinity. Félicité’s deafness in her old age is symbolic of her inability to comprehend or interpret the world around her. Many of the names in the story also appear to have symbolic significance, often with ironic overtones. Félicité (whose name, like the English word “felicity,” implies both happiness and good fortune) lives a life of repeated misfortune and great sadness, but she dies smiling. Victor is certainly not victorious; Virginie dies before she lives, virginal by default, another life wasted; “aubaine,” in French, refers to a godsend or windfall, but while Félicité may see Madame Aubain in this light, one could argue that Félicité was less than fortunate in her choice of employers.

Realism

Flaubert was one of the leaders of the realist movement in French literature, which sought to portray life in a realistic manner primarily through the use of an objective narrative point of view and the accumulation of accurate details. He believed in meticulous observation and exact reporting of events. He also held firmly that the writer must not express his opinion through his art — that he must simply tell the story. Thus in “A Simple Heart,” the narrator reports the story of Félicité’s life without commentary or reflection. The reader is thus obliged to draw his or her own conclusions — much as in real life.