《包法利夫人》是法国批判现实主义小说家福楼拜的代表作。它讲述的是一个受过贵族化教育的农家女爱玛的故事。她瞧不起当乡镇医生的丈夫包法利，梦想着传奇式的爱情。可是她的两度偷情非但没有给她带来幸福，却使她自己成为高利贷者盘剥的对象。最后她积债如山，走投无路，只好服毒自尽。福楼拜以貌似冷漠的态度，非常“客观”地揭示了酿成这一悲剧的前因后果，陈述了社会所不能推卸的责任。(Madame Bovary is the debut novel of literary realism created by French writer Gustave Flaubert. It tells a story of Emma Rouault, a daintily dressed young woman who has received a "good education" in a convent. She looks down on Bovary, her husband and the doctor in the town, and has a powerful yearning for luxury and romance. However, her two affairs do not bring her happiness but turn her into the exploitee of usurers. At last, she gets desperate for high debts and commits suicide. Flaubert reveals the cause and consequence of the tragedy with a cold attitude and states the inescapable responsibilities of the society.)