puce fairy book
...es the truth that indicates Jackie=s outspokenness. She is not afraid of expressing her feeling about the situation. Her practicality is shown in the logic of her statement, quite opposite to the character Emma in Madame Bovary. Emma is revealed to be a dreamer and a romantic. “Love she thought, must come suddenly, with great outbursts and lightening, -a hurricane of the skies, which falls upon life, revolutionises it, roots up the will like a leaf, and sweeps the whole heart into the abyss”(Flaubert 127). Emma=s imagination of romance takes over her thoughts and life. Her thoughts are an expression of what she believes love “should be”. This indicates her personality being a strong passionate and romantic dreamer. As a result, the style of writing of romantic genre between 1940 and after 1980, have both a slight connection and difference between the characteristics of the male and female characters. The conflict in both novels arose from the theme appearance versus reality, which consequently sparked different reactions depending on the personality of the character. As a result of Nathan=s characteristics, the theme appearance versus reality emerged. Nathan=s actions such as “going to see Justine had been a calculated move to distance himself from Jackie and to show her and himself how ridiculously implausible any relationship between them would be”(Roberts 98). Appearance versus reality is displayed to the reader as Nathan tries to cover his true emotions and feeling by the “calculated move to distance himself from Jackie”(Roberts 98). Aware that strong feelings existed for Jackie, he took it upon himself to ignore the reality of his feelings. Going to see Justine convinced himself that it appeared that he did not care for Jackie. Similar elements applied in the novel Madame Bovary to the character Emma. Emma’s personality traits clouded her judgement to react to certain circumstances. Emma, being a dreamer left her with only the idea of what love was meant to be. “Before marriage she thought herself in love; but the happiness that should have followed this love not having come, she must, she thought, have been mistaken. And Emma tried to find out what one meant exactly in life by the words, felicity, passion, rapture, that Politewicz 3 had seemed to her so beautiful in books”(Flaubert 46). The large amounts of romance novels Emma drowned herself in as a child left her with the impression that love, in reality, was what the books made it out to be. The theme appearance versus reality dominated Emma=s life. Disgusted at her life, she dreamed of how it should have been, which brought out the conflict with self in the novel. The conflict of dealing with the theme appearance versus reality brought different reactions to the other main characters. Nora Roberts and her character Jackie, being presented as a strong willed individual took it upon herself to resolve the conflict. Jackie saw past the appearance of Nathan Powell and fought to see the true person inside. Although Nathan was persistent not to let Jackie inside, she decided “Win or lose, life didn’t begin or end on the first try. There couldn’t be anyone who knew that better than herself. If something worked, you kept at it. And if something didn’t work, and you wanted it, you kept right at that... she might just apply it to Nathan”(Roberts73-74). Nora Roberts made her character fight to obtain what her heart desired. She intended to have a strong character that did not give up. Jackie=s personality traits evidently effected her decision to pursue Nathan. Confident that Nathan was hiding his feelings, she decided to show Nathan that he needed her. Emma on the other hand took a different approach to achieve her dream. Being caught up in appearance verse reality combined with her personality did not inspire her to work towards achieving her dream. Emma rather in “her inmost heart, however, was waiting for something to happen. Like shipwrecked sailors, she turned a despairing gaze over the solitude of her life, seeking some white sail in the far mists of the horizon”(Flaubert 80). Rather than trying to find and solve the problem in her heart, Emma waits for the opportunity to come to her. She does not see the problem within herself therefore she continues to wait for a dream. A dream that will never come true. Without looking past the appearance of what life should be according to Emma, she will never experience love or romance in reality. The conflict of appearance verses reality presented in both novels, are dealt with differently according to the time period. As a result of the contrast of the characteristics of the women from 1940 to 1980, the reaction from Jackie and Emma differ. Although presented with the same conflict in both Nathan and Charles, the theme appearance verses reality are dealt with in an opposite approach. The book written in the 1900's indicate that the women long for an ideal dream but would not work to grasp it, whereas the women presented in the twentieth century fight for what they desired. Politewicz 4 The development of the characters and their reactions subsequently unravelled each novel to draw an opposing ending. The 1857 novel Madame Bovary did not follow the same ending elements as the recent novel Loving Jack. Each main male and female character was an important aspect to drawing the conclusion of the romance novel. Flaubert’s creation of Emma=s personality and her inability to distinguish the difference of appearance verses reality resulted in immense grief. Her mental pain and depression left her with the tragic decision to take her own life. Searching for the poison, Emma said, “I want it; give me it=...[she] seized the jar, tore out the cork, plunged in her hand, and withdrawing it full of a white powder, she began eating it”(Flaubert 382). Not being able to achieve that dream of a perfect lover and of romance, left her to great depression and suicide. A sorrowful ending, quite opposite to the ending for character Jackie in Loving Jack. Jackie=s strong will and outspokenness resulted in achiev...