Madame Bovary syndrome or Bovarism is a behavioral disorder that arises from the emergence of 19th-century romantic novels, since then the idealization of love has led thousands of people (mostly women) to continued frustration and disappointment. It always ends in conflict with the realistic perception of a marital relationship.
We are talking about a psychopathology that was first described in 1892 by the philosopher Jules de Gaultier, who in his essay, based on the literary work of Madame Bovary, refers to the figure of his protagonist, Emma, as the perfect stereotype of the suffering person from what he called “chronic emotional dissatisfaction”.
- Emma Bovary is a literary character.
- Created by French writer Gustave Flaubert in 1857.
- The play chronicles his marriage to Charles Bovary.
- A rural doctor who adores him.
- But is not reciprocal.
- Due in part to his attachment to the romantic novels of the time.
- Which he devours quickly since he was a teenager.
The constant search for passionate and obsessive relationships found in his books provokes a state of constant and terrible emotional dissatisfaction. After suffering a depression, Charles decides to move to a small town, where the couple will meet several different characters.
Emma will be seduced by two of them, first by Rodolphe. La young student and then by Rodolphe. La womanizer named Rodolphe. La relationship with both is possessive, jealous and very submissive. Faced with the abandonment of his lovers, he ends up committing arsenic. Dust.
Mrs. Bovary, like other literary figures such as Anna Karenina, renounces her family and wife in search of love, which, on the one hand, may seem quite rigid, but on the other, is a great critique of Idealized Love. Emma is so obsessed with satisfying her desires that she is not afraid to debate with her family, neglect her daughter, or hurt the people around her.
“Beware of sadness, is it an addiction”. – Gustave Flaubert?
People with Ms. Bovary syndrome don’t know how to be alone, they live with the idea that an ideal loved one will arrive that will change their lives and save them from routine and problems, when they leave a relationship, soon they start another. Your only goal is to find someone like the one described in books, series or romantic movies.
Every time they fall in love with someone new and become obsessed with them, they idealize in such a way that it is impossible to change their mind, even if the person in question does not belong to them or does not suit them.
Because of their inability to maintain a real relationship, they often resort to impossible love, sometimes they already have a romantic partner and yet they continue to pursue the illusion of ideal love with another person.
This leads to infidelity because, since they don’t know how to be alone, they rarely end their relationships if they don’t have an “Ace,” anyone else?Up your sleeve. Complicated relationships or tormented people attract them because they consider them romantic and passionate.
Shortly after starting a relationship, they begin to discover that their sentimental partner is a human being, that is, that he also has his flaws, idealization disappears and, with this disappearance, frustration reappears, they no longer consider that person to be the right one. begin to show symptoms of selflessness.
They never settle for anyone because they don’t understand love beyond the first stage of passion. Relational vision is limited and is based on stories or characters who have never experienced tranquility, problems or monotony.
Due to the sentimental companion’s obsession, they begin to copy their tastes, afitions and even their way of thinking. Mimesis is caused by the exaggerated admiration they feel for the other person, but also for fear. Bovary syndrome causes a strong fear of being abandoned by the other person, which can cause him to react quite badly when he’s done.
While this psychopathology has been very common in women for many years, its incidence is now more balanced, in fact, in the past it was men who worked while women stayed at home, dedicating their free time to activities such as reading. to leave reality, transport them to places where the problems of daily life did not exist.
People with this condition often face neglect problems or emotional deficiencies during childhood, leading them to generate an exaggerated need to get the attention of the sentimental partner, in an attempt to stop feeling those same feelings.
Mrs. Bovary’s syndrome has as its main symptom a melancholy condition, people with this condition can be treated with the help of specialists, who will be in charge of evaluating the case and establishing a more appropriate intervention protocol, this syndrome may also be linked to other more serious disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or limit disorder , which make intervention even more necessary because of the potential danger of its development.
GAULTIER, J. (1892). Bovarysm, psychology in the leoeuvre of Flaubert, Paris: France.