The Æsthetics of Fragmentation: L'Éducation sentimentale

Flaubert's L'Éducation sentimentale represents an aesthetic based on the fragmentation of the literary work. Thematically Frédéric's relationship with Mme Arnoux suggests a desire to return to the wholeness of the Lacanian Imaginary realm. At the stylistic level irony and detailed description disrupt the text's claim to realism. Instead of the meaning-producing order of a "realist" text L'Éducation evokes a frustrating lack of order due to its fragmentation. Historical events are documented precisely but without a global narrative. The events of 1848 (as they are represented) suggest disorientation and chaos because of the destruction of a meaning-producing social order. (JSI)