At the age of eighteen Felicity finds a young man named Theodore. Unfortunately, although he promises her marriage, he runs off and marries “a very rich old woman, Madame Lehoussais, of Toucques.” (Flaubert, pg 2) Once again, the differences in fate and social class make themselves apparent in this scene. Felicity seems to be the representation of a lower social class. Such a statement can be made apparent by her lovers need to marry a rich woman. A deeper analysis shows the affect that social class has on Theodore himself. The reason that he goes off with an old rich woman is in fact because he is terrified of serving for his country, and since his parents were only able to buy his conscription for one year, the only way to escape serving is to marry a rich woman. In such a short segment the perks of higher class positions in society are made obvious. Even through Felicity’s mistreatment as a child, and through Theodore’s unfortunate decision the story inscribes that those in lower class society do not run their own lives. It feels that throughout the entire story, Felicity is living the lives of those around her, those with more money, power and higher
At the age of eighteen Felicity finds a young man named Theodore. Unfortunately, although he promises her marriage, he runs off and marries “a very rich old woman, Madame Lehoussais, of Toucques.” (Flaubert, pg 2) Once again, the differences in fate and social class make themselves apparent in this scene. Felicity seems to be the representation of a lower social class. Such a statement can be made apparent by her lovers need to marry a rich woman. A deeper analysis shows the affect that social class has on Theodore himself. The reason that he goes off with an old rich woman is in fact because he is terrified of serving for his country, and since his parents were only able to buy his conscription for one year, the only way to escape serving is to marry a rich woman. In such a short segment the perks of higher class positions in society are made obvious. Even through Felicity’s mistreatment as a child, and through Theodore’s unfortunate decision the story inscribes that those in lower class society do not run their own lives. It feels that throughout the entire story, Felicity is living the lives of those around her, those with more money, power and higher