A Simple Soul
Noemi Solano
Professor Oropesa
Humanities 60-H
April 1, 2013
“A Simple Soul” Gustave Flaubert’s short story “A Simple Soul” is about a woman of a simple mind yet a devoted heart, named Felicite. Although she suffered from the tremendous loss of her parents early on in her life, she continued to love unconditionally, even until her last breath. When she was 18 years old, she fell in love with a young man that left her for a rich, old woman “in order to escape the conscription…” Following this immense heartbreak, she left the farm she was working at and headed for Pont-l’Eveque where she would meet the widow that she would work over 50 years for. Madame Aubain was no easy woman to work for and treated Felicite badly. But even though she was demeaned, beaten, and unappreciated, Felicite lived a life of servitude and would remain devout to Madame Aubain until the very end. Throughout all the pain and suffering Felicite endured, she was given a parrot that seemed to make all the cruelty she had undergone go away. While the parrot added admiration, love, and comfort to her life, it also caused the decline of her health. Felicite led a life of simplicity and in the end, she was happy with her life. The most interesting elements in “A Simple Soul” were Felicite’s health declining over a parrot, Loulou getting stuffed and worshipped, and her entire life being centered on said parrot. While all of these can be looked at in a negative connotation, in Felicite’s eyes, the power symbol of the parrot was worshipped in a positive light.
Karl Marx would have commented that people are paying their religion off in order to go to heaven. While some of the background characters, even Felicite’s family members, are greedy, she offered all that she had loved in life. Self-interest and greed are what motivate people. The greedy people always want more and more. In Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto, he goes into detail about religious exploitations, “It has pitilessly torn
Professor Oropesa
Humanities 60-H
April 1, 2013
“A Simple Soul” Gustave Flaubert’s short story “A Simple Soul” is about a woman of a simple mind yet a devoted heart, named Felicite. Although she suffered from the tremendous loss of her parents early on in her life, she continued to love unconditionally, even until her last breath. When she was 18 years old, she fell in love with a young man that left her for a rich, old woman “in order to escape the conscription…” Following this immense heartbreak, she left the farm she was working at and headed for Pont-l’Eveque where she would meet the widow that she would work over 50 years for. Madame Aubain was no easy woman to work for and treated Felicite badly. But even though she was demeaned, beaten, and unappreciated, Felicite lived a life of servitude and would remain devout to Madame Aubain until the very end. Throughout all the pain and suffering Felicite endured, she was given a parrot that seemed to make all the cruelty she had undergone go away. While the parrot added admiration, love, and comfort to her life, it also caused the decline of her health. Felicite led a life of simplicity and in the end, she was happy with her life. The most interesting elements in “A Simple Soul” were Felicite’s health declining over a parrot, Loulou getting stuffed and worshipped, and her entire life being centered on said parrot. While all of these can be looked at in a negative connotation, in Felicite’s eyes, the power symbol of the parrot was worshipped in a positive light.
Karl Marx would have commented that people are paying their religion off in order to go to heaven. While some of the background characters, even Felicite’s family members, are greedy, she offered all that she had loved in life. Self-interest and greed are what motivate people. The greedy people always want more and more. In Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto, he goes into detail about religious exploitations, “It has pitilessly torn