LITERATURE - Gustave Flaubert

The great French 19th century novelist Gustave Flaubert understood tragedy, France, the bourgeoisie and laughter.
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Produced in collaboration with Mike Booth
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[@JTan-wu7wg]

Facebook would probably give this guy a heart attack.

[@internetsummoner]

J. Tan and magazines !

[@carlinsghost6535]

I think Instagram, KZbin vlogs would be worse

[@ilianabarrera5505]

And Twitter

[@kamalpreetsingh1686]

Mobile phones is worse enemy created by human.....

[@waynej2608]

"And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly into the past" - F. Scott Fitzgerald

[@Farisss92]

Not a literature addict or even a reader, but my god, Madame Bovary was the only thing I could read for an hour and still not get bored. I'm literally Emma in real life (I'm a guy though), I relate so much to her on personal level with my out of the world desires yet I'm so much restricted by my own social locations. Flaubert is a genius.

[@ah1114]

Well at least you can see the result of uncontrolled desires from the fictional and from the real story here

[@timbuktu777]

Read it in French. Some scenes were so scarily cinematic. Flaubert is a genius writer.

[@antoinerostagnat3495]

Being French I've never liked being forced to study those old literary masterpieces books for the baccalauréat, yet I identify myself very much to Flaubert's thinking and now I'm really curious to re-read his books having in mind this new insight. If only our French teachers had a little bit of Alain de Botton in them, I guess students would take a much sincere interest in those reads. Thank you very much !

[@anthonydeleon7996]

Those old French masterpieces, i.e., Flaubert, Baudelaire, Balzac, etc. are amazing. Don't take them for granted. Be happy you're a part of a culture that appreciates and reveres literature and the valuable knowledge that stems from fine arts. You could be an American with an entire culture consisting of McDonalds, Ford F-150s, beers and guns.

[@samrevlej9331]

@@anthonydeleon7996 And here we have one prime example of modern stupidity, badmouthing an entire culture they apparently know very little based on preconceived ideas, when American authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tennesee Williams and Toni Morrison have given us some of the great works of the past century, while a vast majority of my French compatriots are so absorbed by their so-called greatness they forget they're waist-deep into the same consumerism as most of the Western world. There is nothing superior or inferior about one culture or another. The only intellectual hierarchy manifests when idiots of any nation speak, convinced of their own superiority, and showcase their inferiority.

[@CYR888]

I'm Nicaraguan and have read Flaubert, Voltaire, Destovosky, and others but I've yet to read Ruben Dario.

[@aviadg8851]

22222ק2קקק22 2

[@DressyCrooner]

​@@anthonydeleon7996 Hey, America has culture too. Emerson, Poe, Whitman, Faulkner, Baldwin, Bellow, Capote, Wilson, James, Vidal, Mailer, Sontag, Roth, Thoreau, Twain...

[@fabienlehenaff2742]

His French pronouciation is literally perfect ! Even better than all the French teachers I've met around the world. Great Job!

[@furdiebant]

Fabien Le Henaff shame about the overegged English accent...

[@DressyCrooner]

He has Swiss heritage.

[@Armazillo]

Man. This such a relevant video. The observations about the accessibility and reach of knowledge being separate from true intelligence is really poignant, especially when you draw parallels between the mass dissemination of knowledge via newspapers in Flaubert's time and the internet of today. I mean, what are your videos? I know nothing about these men, these women, you talk about, but I can watch your videos and know as much as you do without having to do any of the work. Knowledge is not a thing you have to earn anymore. Great video.

[@philliplasley4177]

I agree. The media, the idiot, his conceptual understandings of the world still are relevant despite the time gap. What an amazing thing it is.

[@fortsechs]

Well, that has to be yet another delusion or intellectual short circuit Flaubert would add to his encyclopaedia of human stupidity.

[@Corentinbes]

Your French pronunciation is really good. Not many English speakers can pronounce the "r" sound.

[@primavera3989]

He's actually Swiss :)

[@Corentinbes]

Funny, his accent really sound British.

[@007Anukul]

Alain de Botton is a french guy brought up in england, that's way

[@coweatsman]

It's not mandatory but it is quaint. Life would be very boring if no one had distinctive accents.

[@gregmiller9710]

...i say burr...he says bare...

[@embossed64]

Flaubert predicts the internet.

[@kandorstevenson]

I just finished Madam Bovary this morning📑. What a fantastic and tragic 😢 book. Thank you.

[@dragoste1970]

I honestly cannot get enough of his channel. I came here to watch a video on Albert Camus (I have a bit of an obsession with the writers and thinkers, and artists and singers of France in the 1930's.) What I have found instead is a new way of looking at many things. What warms my heart most is that, with the school of life, and other commenters here, I feel less alone with my views on things, whereas for most of my life, that was not the case. Thank you School of life. Thank you!

[@o0MRG0o]

"...Made to live before we know how" really struck a cord with me; brings some of the more ethereal problems I've been dealing with into some sort of focus. Reading more about Flaubert now, thanks for the video.

[@lillinablue]

Essencially, all Gustave Flaubert's works are awsome.

[@DetectivePoofPoof]

He must have been ahead of his time in terms of his mindset. Sadly I think hes also ahead of our time as well. When it comes to the way people think, overall things don't seem to be that different.

[@boogly3716]

5 years between... Nevertheless, i think that his mindset is more relatable to past-for-him generations. Like, talking about stupidity and ignorance, author mentions knowing a lot of things yet not understanding them - and those past generations (and especially lower classes) knew few things, but eventually mastered them for the purpose of well-surviving, earning bits of money etc. It's more likely that we've just lost this entirety of our mind throughout time

[@jamesboxx619]

I think Anton Chekhov would make an interesting video - a very difficult life but achieved so much.

[@waynej2608]

Yes! Chekhov, please.

[@veselinstoyanov972]

Please do Gabriel Garcia Marquez next!

[@lucas005pe]

wow. he is one of May favorite authors, but i didnt know he was so amazing!!

[@barelmizan207]

Can you please make a video about Jules Verne?

[@TheyCallMeNewb]

Cant keep from laughter as one shaves? Such confounding wisdom! Jouissance!

[@lillinablue]

"Madame Bovary" is a Best Classic. All his works are Masterpieces.

[@Adamantablade]

Do one on Nabokov!

[@MeandmySara]

Thank you! I have long defended Madame Bovary against those insensitive, morally superior people :( I am happy you made this video. thank you Alain and SOL.

[@HannaARTzink]

I have just stepped into the SoL and I soooo much enjoy its ways, its optimism and delicate humour and overt generosity.

[@redRAID3R]

This might just be the best channel on youtube.

[@dorothytran2926]

Fantastic School of Life! The exquisite tragedy, realism, and shock in his novel both terrifies and interests the reader, preventing us from turning away. I also love what you said, that he writes Madame Bovery in such a way that makes us relate to the sordid, indulgent sides of her. Your video: Loved your take on tragedy, idiot vs genius (that we can attain so much knowledge without truly understanding any of it-problem with social media today and newspapers of his time), and the emptiness of bourgeois decadence. Brava! Future video idea: If you haven’t yet done so, I think Vladimir Nobokov’s Lolita would make for an interesting video. It somehow makes the disturbing sound beautiful.

[@qazwerspoil]

How about a series on classical things like Homer, Ovid, Virgil etc? Thought this would be a good idea.

[@digitalbrentable]

This moved me. Thank you.

[@Resist7]

Another wonderful video! I do wish that you would highlight more female thinkers/writers though. There is a rich history of fantastically talented women that deserve the spotlight on this channel.

[@irenajepuranovic6033]

okay now for real, this channel helped me write so many school projects jeasus-

[@drew4746]

I have a different reading of this than what’s described in your video. To me Emma is almost like a female Don Quixote, her reading of romance novels is akin to his reading of the knight’s errant. I think the whole novel purposefully evokes bad clichés especially of romantic situations. Even the imagery that she talks about with Leon and Rodolphe like a scene of a beach and sunset are extremely clichè. Emma finds her notion of love from her novels and tries to achieve those fantasies in real life but is never able to even in her affair with Leon. In my opinion the novel is actually mocking Emma as much as it is trying to make us sympathize with her.

[@vakreswar]

Thank you, that was inspiring in so many different aspects. I really needed that

[@gtabigfan34]

Balzac!Balzac!Balzac!

[@valde2707]

Yes!!!

[@teddysalad8227]

Ball zac

[@mariochartouni]

Ballsack

[@waynej2608]

"Like Balzac used to say, 'there goes another novel'" 😎

[@lojanak60]

Thank you very much Alain de Botton and people of The School of Life! I have just found this channel a few weeks ago and seen most of the fascinating clips. Great job indeed. Just as a short comment, by any chance, would it be possible to also add English subtitle to the clips? Although most of them are very clear and understandable, for a non-native English speaker having the subtitle provided will be greatly helpful indeed. Thank you again!

[@angelicasomeone7460]

What a voice, what eloquence, what insight, *sigh*.

[@carolchen2320]

Not only does the narrator has the smoothest, most soul-warmingly pleasant voice ever, he continues to nail every name in all languages, German, Dutch, French you name it. Who is this guy?

[@4FYTfa8EjYHNXjChe8xs7xmC5pNEtz]

His name is Hugh Jorgen.

[@tomchandler5907]

Madame Bovary has been sitting on my shelf for months. I really must read it now!!

[@germidor2797]

OMG, i took an exam 4 days ago about Flaubert and Madame Bovary. This video would have helped me a lot.

[@gracecamia5040]

Great video. thanks . This is my report for Literature class

[@chloeliu6642]

Even as a non-native speaker of neither English nor French, I still can tell how good your French pronunciation is!

[@TecnoSpam]

Love your videos, even if i'm Italian I use them to study, if you implemented the subtitles they would be perfect! Anyway, great great job!

[@meriemt844]

i adore your works, merci !

[@heroinasytumbas3346]

I would love it if you do George Orwell, Sylvia Plath and Jorge Luis Borges... yes, I know they have almost nothing in common. Just suggesting some of my favorites

[@harrydixon9538]

Very timely and apt are these principles of globalism and one-nationhood...

[@morteniversen6109]

wonderful video thank you

[@valde2707]

Amazing video and great info here...!

[@nickroberts1596]

Excellent, as always. Would you consider doing videos on Joyce, Nabokov, Lowry, Leopardi, and/or Avicenna?

[@shakespearaamina9117]

Fascinating

[@Heartwing37]

Women often have suffered from “Bovaryism” from watching soap operas and reading Harlequin romances....

[@waynej2608]

@@GeoQua I can relate to that. Publications like Playboy, Penthouse, Gallery, Oui, etc, helped get me through adolescence. Oh, and as cliched as it sounds, I did read many of the articles, too. Granted, they weren't my primary motivation. Still, it was more of an effort than what my buddies, put forth. My favorite writer back then was, Shel Silverstein. I think that was Playboy, the best of the lot, in terms of being fairly hip and literate. And, impressive interviews, sandwiched between the t and a. 😎

[@birgirkemuru2585]

I apologize for my repeated suggestion, but a video on H.P. Lovecraft would make my year.

[@aa-jm7js]

Birgir Kemur. Was your requested video of H.P. Lovecraft made after all? I was looking up Flaubert's quotes after I read your comment. Here's one that may have enveloped inspiration into his specific genre of books: "the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."

[@moniquemonique3051]

i looove you! thank you for this video!

[@qazaqtatar]

Well done!

[@MisterJtheGamer]

Just picked up Madame Bovary, heard the name and now I know why. This'll be an excellent read indeed!

[@WalyB01]

Flaubert would have loved the internet.

[@nananou1687]

He was a beautiful soul

[@ziranduan]

Learnt a lot from this video, thanks a lot!

[@bcscottj]

I love this channel

[@Caumola]

Wao il parle super bien français ! Merci d'avoir parler du magnifique Flaubert d'ailleurs

[@Manugera9999]

I would love to see a video about Jose Saramago

[@internetsummoner]

Now I understand why they wrote that Flaubert was a misanthropist ! The man is like me in the sense that I as well question why we do what we do and the laugh at how idiotic it is !

[@anaximander_4473]

This concept of Le Betise seems to me to be even more pertinent in our time.

[@CDAL0]

Thanks!, Great Videos!

[@Nepalireacts123]

What so you guys think of jack london?Would love to see a video on him.Great work as always.

[@righteousdude4645]

Do an episode on H.P. Lovecraft.

[@scottphillips6299]

Personally, I believe this is the best video the TSOL has produced. This video presentation, like Flaubert, is engaging, as well as thought provoking. I particularly enjoyed TSOL's interpretation of Flaubert on the stupidity of the modern media. I believe it draws a thoughtful comparison with our current "google" society.

[@slmjkdbtl]

omg that soul brother quote

[@jebacgoogleplus6621]

Great to see Flaubert, any chance to do an episode about Emile Zola

[@danielmutten8066]

One of my favourites, sentimental education; cheers school of life, anything on james joyce? I know hes a very hard writer to potray, finnegeans wake and its philosophy behind it would be a good one; encompassing many layers and talking from human and inhuman points of view

[@LiteraryRetreat]

Please do a video on Oscar Wilde.

[@adamkozowski8723]

School of Life, could you do a video about Henryk Sienkiewicz (author of Quo vadis)?

[@Ushanedi]

These videos are awesome! Can you do one on Gogol?

[@yourfriendlyneighbour3485]

Now I really wanna read it

[@Vocalsalesmasteryjohnheart]

Hi, Love this video. I think Madame Bovary is great, but there's a new modern book out, if you like these videos I am almost sure you will like "The Course Of Love." I intended to savor the novel over the summer, but the characters were so likable and the philosophy so deep I read the dang thing on my ipad in 2 days. I plan to read it one more time this summer. I am finding it a healing experience as I ruminate over the mistakes my ex-wife and I made in our marriage. Personally, I wish this book was taught in the last year of high school along with how to invest and balance a check book, but I won't hold my breath (and that is a tragedy, although the book does point out that we humans like to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors so we can find out the truth on our own ). Why am I going on and on about it and not Flaubert? Well, the guy who wrote the book is a chap called Alain de botton. He also writes and voices these wonderful youtube videos. This is the only way I have of trying to thank the man. So, thanks Alain! Your book means a lot to me. I think it is going to help a lot of people in this world! Congrats!

[@samilabel]

Oh no, please I just took my final exam on Flaubert, been studying him for a year !! lol

[@Anna-mc3ll]

Merci!

[@puzzleoz9031]

I really wish you'd make a literature episode on George Orwell

[@georgethoms2806]

My understanding, reading Madame Bovary, was that living a life of frivolity, of unimportant desires, leads finally to disaster. I didn’t find any empathy in the novel with this, unlike the description in this video. It’s rather an impartial view of this phenommenon.

[@beateulrich-schwieger9200]

I learn and hear a little bit about this and learn in the same time like a child english, good.

[@SpartanAegis]

Will you be making a video on Jack London soon?

[@TheJaseku]

Thanks :)

[@zakknslash]

If i only had this 3 weeks ago!

[@maia9934]

I passed an exam about Madame Bovary a week ago...

[@jonbartolo8067]

Same, lol.

[@2park_]

what course is it? and where ? If i may ask ...

[@maia9934]

+Xiongnan Park Literature, in France.

[@thomasstokes8170]

+Maya N. Salut!

[@committedjack]

Can you do a video on the media and its problems and merits please?

[@bolivar1789]

If Madam Bovary was alive now and if she asked me for advice, I would give her the following list and save her life: 1. Read two books by Alain de Botton: How to think more about sex The Course of Love 2. Listen to these two podcasts with Alain on the subject: Pinguin Podcast A Phone Call from Paul ( With Paul Holdenberg. What a great listener! ) 3. Watch the movie " Scenes from a Marriage" by Ingmar Bergman. You will see that marriage is a hell for almost everyone. So you are not alone! 4.Read the story I love the most by Gustave Flaubert: "The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitalier" ( From The Three Tales) The guy in the story did not kill himself either. Although he had all the reasons in the world to do so! In fact,to be honest, if I was him, I probably would. But as you will see, what really saved him in the end can be found in this wonderful quote by Nietzsche: "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how" 5. But going for shopping all the time is no good reason to live! You would also hugely benefit from Erich Fromm's famous book " To Have or To Be".

[@alokinrainborn]

will u marry me? lol jk i love your statement

[@bolivar1789]

Hello Nikola. Thank you so much for such a generous proposal:-) I wish you all the best!

[@darrelcasey4844]

Lua Veli ..

[@saltpepper7525]

How can someone ever give such a concise answer to anybody's questions, troubles etc? Did this happen by too much reading? By birth? How? Are u real?

[@raffacasting]

Lua Veli Do you think Chloe follows Alain from Califórnia?

[@IgNaceus]

I suggest to make a video on each or, at least, some of these writers: James Joyce, William Faulkner, Louis Ferdinand Céline, T. S. Eliot, Henry James, Jorge Luis Borges, Joseph Conrad, Friedrich Hölderlin, Walt Whitman, Bertolt Brecht, Michel de Montaigne. It would be great! Thank you.

[@abbieschneebecke8534]

Please make a video on David Hume!

[@antfarm56]

could you do a video on herman hesse thanks keep up the good videos

[@christopherfanelli8821]

‘A Sentimental Education’ is also a great novel.

[@ebonyoffor3104]

Does someone know the original picture that was used as the symbol of Bovary's affairs at 2:06 ?

[@coweatsman]

If Flaubert loathed the media in his day what would he have thought of the Murdochcracy of today or of social media?

[@szamee83]

coweatsman that it was profoundly stupid.

[@CanisLupusSteparium]

Not so sure about railway lines, but I'd certainly give one Walkie Talkie or two for the sake of Flaubert's works...

[@toonicetobeunreal]

I would love if you, guys, make a video about Machado de Assis! He was a realist and the most influent writer in Brazil. I know you have a School of Life in Rio, so, why not?

[@FENRIR-]

Great channel, i'm new here. Is a british channel? I really enjoy the accent :D

[@kurisensei]

Yes, Alain de Botton is English, born of very wealthy parents. I think partly raised in Switzerland and bilingual

[@dochmbi]

Exercise does prevent all illness though, it's true. Gotta work out regularly!

[@PelczarTomasz]

Pretty cool ...

[@silvananasim1071]

can you do a literature video on E. M. Forster?

[@carolchen5511]

I did not enjoy Madame Bovary but I agree with so much of Flaubert’s ideas!! Maybe I shall try again

[@kateparker8546]

Well now I want to read Madame Bovary! I wonder if it's a challenging read and I should set out more time for it, or if it's paced similar to the works of Austen and Dickens?

[@atomictartar]

I found it pacing but more emotional and catching than Austen works n_n

[@Allexandra04]

personally, I found it boring, read it just because i was needing it. And it is not challenging at all, you shouldn't have problems reading it.

[@soulreaperichig0]

6:25 What's the name of the painting which features the "modern idiot"?

[@ishmaelhope2516]

We didn't need the narrator to contradict Flaubert's quote about art being more valuable than a railway.

[@PeterShieldsukcatstripey]

Interesting how you saw Madame Bovary. I read it as a proclamation FOR marriage. In it she was protected, outside of it open to attack. In it she found true sacrificial love - outside of it only selfish lust.

[@justegli]

"Emma gets bored with her husband Charles, loses interest in her child, runs up debts, has affairs and eventually kills herself." Women in a nutshell. Nothing makes women happy, nothing. Flaubert may have published the novel in 1857, but the story remains true to this day. Sad but true.

[@mac5794]

+maryamakiling Unconditional love can??

[@jlvargas24]

O most lame and impotent conclusion.

[@justegli]

maryamakiling Woman, thy name is frailty.

[@justegli]

palash parpani Only youth mother loves you unconditionally, all else is an illusion. Girls and women always trade. They might love you because you're funny, rich, muscular, etc. Yet, their love is not unconditional. Men can love unconditionally, women't can't(except for their offspring).

[@justegli]

jlvargas24 How old are you?

[@alexori4822]

interesting that Flaubert despised newspapers yet the inspiration for his greatest novel came from one.