key Insights. "Madame Bovary", first published in 1857. It is considered one of the greatest works of world literature and a seminal example of literary realism. The story follows the life of Emma Bovary, a young woman married to a country doctor, Charles Bovary. Dissatisfied with her provincial life and longing for romance and luxury, Emma becomes increasingly entangled in a web of debt and adultery. Flaubert's novel is a scathing critique of the French bourgeoisie and a masterful exploration of the consequences of romantic idealism and societal expectations.