Le tracé ironique du velours vert dans Madame Bovary

An ironic connection has thus far been overlooked by Flaubertian scholars: the "green velvet" cloth that Charles Bovary intends to place over Emma's coffin and the "green velvet" of Rodolphe's frock coat. The motif of "green velvet" underscores thematically, structurally, and symbolically the tragic-ironic nature of Madame Bovary's fate. Textual analysis of the recurring words "green" and "velvet" confirms this hypothesis. The epilogue is tacitly ironic; young Berthe works in a cotton-mill. Although velvet is not mentioned, it is well known that velveteen factories existed around Rouen in the latter half of the nineteenth century. (In French) (SH-K)