Madame Bovary Page #2

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She sat holding the tongues in

the fire...

or watching the rain fall.

Charles had noticed his wife's

languor.

For a while, he didn't know what

to do...

then he made a secret decision...

hoping that what for him was a

great sacrifice...

would allow Emma's health to

improve.

Would you be sad...

to leave Tostes?

Why do you ask?

Because if you agree...

I've decided to open a practice in a

bigger town.

In Rouen?

No, not Rouen. Rouen's out of the

question.

In Yonville. It's almost a town.

It's at least four times bigger

than this place.

Are you sure?

If you want to, yes.

We'll start a new life.

I'll have to find new customers.

It'll be easy, I'm sure.

You're a good doctor, everybody

knows that.

Let's not take

Nastasie.

Careful, Felicite.

Yes.

Yes, ma'am.

My wedding bouquet.

- It was pretty.

- Yes.

Are you burning it, ma'am?

We're off...

to a new life.

When they left Tostes in March,

Madame Bovary was pregnant.

Be quiet, M. Homais, you pagan!

You've no religion!

One can worship God in a field...

or by gazing at the stars.

The Hirondelle's late.

My God is the God of Socrates,

Franklin, Beranger...

and Voltaire!

I can't believe in some old God in

his garden...

a stick in his hand, putting up his

friends in whales...

who dies with a croak and revives

three days later.

It's quite absurd...

and opposed to all physical laws.

It indicates...

that priests live in total

ignorance...

and strive to drag people down

with them.

Here it is!

The Hirondelle!

Did you see Bourriches?

Is mother better?

You're late.

A passenger felt ill.

Forgive me for costing you

precious minutes.

Don't worry, madame. Let me

welcome you...

to our town. Good-bye for now.

Good-day, M. Homais.

M. Bovary, madame, I'm your

chemist, M. Homais.

I hope you had a good journey.

I'm pleased to welcome you to

Yonville.

Hippolyte!

Take in M. and Mme Bovary's bags.

You must be tired.

Our Hirondelle tosses you around

terribly.

That's true, but I like being shaken

up.

I like to move about.

It's so gloomy to be stuck in one

place.

M. and Mme Bovary, this is Leon

Dupuis...

clerk to our notary, Maitre

Guillaumin.

This is M. Bovary, our new doctor,

and his wife.

If you were like me, always on

horseback...

Medical practice isn't too hard in

these parts.

They pay pretty well.

Medically speaking, apart from

cases...

of bronchitis, enteritis, etc...

we have fevers at harvest time...

and, of course, scrofula...

due to the peasants' deplorable

conditions.

You'll have to fight superstition...

a lot of stubbornness...

They often resort...

to prayer, religion and the priest...

rather than coming to see the

doctor or the chemist.

The climate is temperate here.

We're sheltered from the north

wind by the Argueil Forest...

and from the west by St. Jean's

Hill.

However, this heat...

given off by the river's vapour...

and the herds of cattle...

which exhale ammoniac...

nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen...

Are there any walks here?

Very few.

There's the pasture...

up the hill at the edge of the

woods.

I sometimes take a book up there

at sunset.

Nothing's more wonderful than a

sunset.

Especially at the sea-side.

I love the sea!

Doesn't that expanse uplift your

soul?

Mountainscapes can be like that.

In Switzerland, for example...

And music?

I don't play but I like it a lot.

Don't listen to him, he's too

modest.

I've heard him singing in his room.

Leon lives just above my shop.

You were singing The Guardian

Angel like a professional.

What music do you like?

German.

It sets you dreaming.

Your house is one of the best here.

The advantage for a doctor...

is a rear door, so people can come

and go without being seen.

There's an arbour in the garden.

If madame likes gardening...

my wife isn't interested.

She much prefers reading in her

room.

I'm the same.

Reading by the fire, while a storm

rages...

isn't it lovely?

You forget, the hours pass...

you live with the characters.

You're right.

Have you ever found in a book...

the expression of your ideas...

and even the exact description of

your inner thoughts?

I have felt that.

It's my only distraction here.

Yonville has so few attractions.

It can't be worse than Tostes.

I belonged to a library there.

If you'll do me the honour, my

library is at your disposal.

I have Voltaire, Rousseau and

Walter Scott...

and every day The Rouen Beacon...

of which I am the local

correspondent.

If you'll excuse us, we shall

retire.

I talk and talk...

Mme Bovary must be exhausted.

Goodnight, madame, doctor.

A night in a strange place...How

exciting.

Goodnight.

Monsieur Homais!

It's over!

It's a girl.

During her convalescence, she

wondered about names.

She hesitated between Clara,

Amanda or Yseult.

Charles wanted her named for his

mother.

Emma was against this.

At last, she chose Berthe...

a name she had heard at the ball.

The baby was nursed by the

carpenter's wife.

One day, Emma felt a sudden need

to see her.

She set off for the nurse's abode

at the far end of the village.

- Good day, madame.

- M. Dupuis!

I'm going to see my baby but I feel

a little tired.

Are you busy? If not, you could

accompany me.

By nightfall, all Yonville knew.

Madame Tuvache, the mayor's

wife...

declared that...

Madame Bovary was

compromising herself.

Come on in. Your little one's

sleeping.

She's been sick.

I have to keep washing her.

Could you ask the grocer to let me

have soap when I need it?

I'll do that.

It's hard getting up at night.

I fall asleep in my chair.

A pound of coffee would last me a

month.

Forgive my insisting...

but my poor husband needs some

brandy.

I'll rub the baby's tender little

feet with it.

Some Spanish dancers, I forget

their name...

are coming to Rouen.

Will you go?

If I can.

Thank you for your company.

It was a pleasure, a real pleasure.

I'm so bored!

I'm so bored!

When Leon went to the Lion d'Or

to dine...

Mme Bovary trembled on seeing him...

and ordered...

dinner to be served.

Evening all!

M. Homais arrived during dinner.

He'd sit down between them...

and ask about the patients...

while the doctor inquired about

their resources.

Then they discussed the news...

which Homais knew by heart from the

paper.

At eight, Justin came for him to shut

up shop.

I think my lad's in love with your maid.

On Sundays, the chemist was host...

with Mme Homais and the children,

Napoleon and Athalie.

Leon never missed a Sunday gathering.

M. Homais played ecarte with Emma.

Leon stood behind her, giving advice.

Then the apothecary and the doctor

played dominoes.

Mme Bovary changed places; Leon sat

beside her.

She'd ask him to read poetry.

Leon recited in a slow voice...

which he carefully lowered in the love

passages.

"O, Time, suspend thy flight

"And you, auspicious hours

"Suspend your movement

"Let us savour

"The fast-fading delights of these

oh so happy days."

He's charming! Charming!

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