Madame Bovary - Penn State University

FlaubertAnd the shirts stood out from the chests like cuirasses! Everyonehad just had his hair cut; ears stood out from the heads; empty handed, waited till she had finished. Old Rouault, withpicked off the coarse grass and the thistledowns, while Charles,they had been close-shaved; a few, even, who had had to get a new silk hat and the cuffs of his black coat covering hisup before daybreak, and not been able to see to shave, had hands up to the nails, gave his arm to Madame Bovary senior.diagonal gashes under their noses or cuts the size of a threefrancpiece along the jaws, which the fresh air en route had folk, had come simply in a frock-coat of military cut withAs to Monsieur Bovary senior, who, heartily despising all theseenflamed, so that the great white beaming faces were mottled one row of buttons—he was passing compliments of the barhere and there with red dabs.to a fair young peasant. She bowed, blushed, and did notThe mairie was a mile and a half from the farm, and they know what to say. The other wedding guests talked of theirwent thither on foot, returning in the same way after the ceremonyin the church. The procession, first united like one one another on in advance to be jolly. Those who listenedbusiness or played tricks behind each other’s backs, egginglong coloured scarf that undulated across the fields, along the could always catch the squeaking of the fiddler, who went onnarrow path winding amid the green corn, soon lengthened playing across the fields. When he saw that the rest were farout, and broke up into different groups that loitered to talk. behind he stopped to take breath, slowly rosined his bow, soThe fiddler walked in front with his violin, gay with ribbons that the strings should sound more shrilly, then set off again,at its pegs. Then came the married pair, the relations, the by turns lowering and raising his neck, the better to markfriends, all following pell-mell; the children stayed behind time for himself. The noise of the instrument drove away theamusing themselves plucking the bell-flowers from oat-ears, little birds from afar.or playing amongst themselves unseen. Emma’s dress, too long, The table was laid under the cart-shed. On it were fourtrailed a little on the ground; from time to time she stopped sirloins, six chicken fricassees, stewed veal, three legs of mutton,and in the middle a fine roast suckling pig, flanked to pull it up, and then delicately, with her gloved hands, sheby25