“Une sorte de lien...”: Madame Bovary alongside Notre-Dame de Paris

Abstract

Abstract:This article explores references to Hugo and his works, particularly Notre-Dame de Paris, within Madame Bovary. Flaubert’s novel offers myriad allusions to both Hugo’s works and literary historical events that established Hugo as an epic figure overshadowing nineteenth-century France. While modernizing Hugo’s medieval monsters, Madame Bovary also presents an incisive critique of how mediocrity responds to greatness.