Literature to Film: Madame Bovary

Schimmel/Conrades Science Center Atrium

Madame Bovary is a realist novel written by Flaubert in the 19th century, which has seen numerous adaptations of varying fidelity. We find that many all fallen short in terms of creativity and interpretive strength. For the creative side of this project, we are attempting to make a modern adaptation that addresses the essence of the novel rather that the exact narrative. One way we are accomplishing this goal is by focusing on scenes that are profoundly not cinematic, and accounting for Flaubert’s unique writing style, for example, his use of the imperfect tense to convey subtle changes in the mood and meaning in the intentions of the characters. For the analytical side of the project, we will use adaption theory to analyze our adaptation, the creative side of the project. As an example of resource, Thomas Leitch’s “Twelve Fallacies in Contemporary Adaption Theory” will provide a framework in which to evaluate the originality of our project. Though this work, we hope to gain a larger understanding of the issues faced when adapting this particular text, as well as to gain an appreciation of the work that goes into adaptation.