Rhetoric of Scandal Coursework
Melissa Hendrickson
Jennifer Gelfand
Cynthia Lin
Norah Maloney
COMP 200: Advanced Composition
The Rhetoric of Scandal
Dr. Luz Ramirez
SUNY College at Oneonta
March 22, 2001
Madame Bovary (Group 4) - Affair: Public vs. Private
 
 

  In the novel Madame Bovary, Rodolphe wants to seduce Emma. He attempts the seduction at the fair and then goes away for six weeks.  Rodolphe believes that this will make her desire him more.  When he returns, they go horseback riding together and this starts the affair.  Emma begins to sneak out of her home in the morning after Charles leaves for work. 

Public:  Emma maintains her public appearance during the fair by denying Rodolphe's first attempt to seduce her.  During the fireworks show, Emma stands with Charles and rests her head on his shoulder.  When Rodolphe asks her to go horseback riding, she denies him at first because she is afraid people will talk.  Once Rodolphe thinks that people will see her go into his house, he worries that the affair will be found out.  He tells Emma that he does not want her to compromise herself so she should stop coming over. 

Private:  At the fair, when Emma and Rodolphe are alone, he grabs her hand and she does not withdraw it.  At the firework show, while with Charles, Emma is secretly thinking about Rodolphe and how this might be her chance to engage in a romance.  Rodolphe goes to Emma's house after his return and when they are alone he tells her he loves her.  When they are on the horseback ride together, she gives herself to him because he sweeps her away like the characters in the novels she reads.  Emma sneaks out of her home many times so that they could be alone. 

 


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