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Authors: Gustave Flaubert trans Lydia Davis

Madame Bovary (56 page)

BOOK: Madame Bovary
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111
syncope:
Medical term for a fainting fit.
112
phlebotomy:
Homais’s more technical term for bloodletting. See note to p. 51.
115
the starched headdresses … and relieved with their scattered hues:
This is the second instance of Flaubert’s eccentric choice of syntax, in which three subjects are presented serially, followed by their three matching verbs (see note to p. 43). Thus, it was the starched headdresses that gleamed whiter than snow, and so on.
116
the old man’s rat in his cheese:
The reference is to a fable by Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95) called “The Rat Retired from the World” in which a hermit rat lives in seclusion inside a cheese and refuses help to a delegation of fellow rats in need. It is a satirical gibe aimed at religious hermits and monks in general.
117
Agronomic Society of Rouen:
This organization is fictitious, but there did exist a Seine-Inférieure Agricultural Society.
118
promissory notes:
A promissory note is a promise, in writing, to pay at first presentation or at a predetermined future time a sum of money to another person or to his or her account.
120
cambric:
A very delicate linen fabric.
120
twill:
A linen or cotton fabric closely woven in such a way as to appear to be crossed by diagonal lines.
120
vamped:
The vamp is the part of the shoe or boot that covers the front of the foot—the instep and toes.
122
landau:
A heavy, four-wheeled carriage with a hood divided into two sections that could be folded back.
124
Chariot of State:
Le char de l’État
is as common a poetical or literary expression for the government of a nation as the English “ship of state,” and could have been translated that way; in Monsieur Lieuvain’s speech, however, this mixed metaphor—the chariot tossing in the waves—not only is Flaubert’s deliberate gibe at the art of speechifying but also foreshadows an important later episode in the novel.
124
undermining the foundations:
Toward the end of the book, it is Homais who is, for a short time, undermining the foundations.
130
ex aequo:
The beginning of the Latin phrase
ex aequo et bono
, a legal formulation meaning “according to what is equitable (or just) and good (or fair).” It is used in decisions made according to principles of what is fair and just under the circumstances, overriding the strict rule of law. Here, of course, it is put in the mouth of an official awarding a prize for the best pig, in order to show up his pomposity.
131
Barn dust … hardened them:
This is the third instance of Flaubert’s use of an eccentric syntax that matches a series of three subjects to their three respective verbs.
132
shakos:
A type of tall, cylindrical military cap with a peak or a visor, sometimes decorated with a plume, chain, or ribbon, and with usually, on the front, a metal badge bearing an emblem or sometimes a regiment number.
133
fiacre:
Generally, a carriage available for hire; in this case, the landau in which the Councilor is traveling.
134
dithyrambic lines:
A dithyramb is a tribute written in an exalted or grandiloquent style.
134
A Thousand and One Nights:
Also known as
The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments
, this is a collection of ancient Persian-Indian-Arabian tales, originally in Arabic, arranged in its present form in about 1450 and translated into French and published in France by Antoine Galland from 1707 to 1717. The tales, each self-contained, are linked by their supposed teller, Scheherazade, who, condemned to death by her husband, tells one story each night, postponing the climax of each story until the following night and thereby indefinitely postponing her execution. (She is eventually pardoned.)
135
vestries:
The vestry, or sacristy, is the room in the church where the sacred vessels and sacerdotal robes are kept; the word is also used symbolically, as here, to represent religion or clericalism.
135
apostles of Loyola:
The Jesuits (see note to p. 106).
138
tricot:
A close-knit, sturdy twilled fabric of wool or wool and cotton.
139
blowing:
Panting, recovering their breath.
144
pipe:
Flaubert himself kept a pipe and a glass of water on his bedside table.
146
oxalic acid … rosin … bone black:
Oxalic acid
is a strong acid used for bleaching and cleaning, especially for removing rust;
rosin
is a solid form of resin obtained from pine trees and other plants and is used to make varnish, among other things;
bone black
is a substance obtained by charring animal bones and is used especially as a pigment or adsorbent.
149
picots:
Norman dialect for “turkeys.”
150
poor Emma:
For Flaubert himself, “poor” was often a term of affection.
151
furze:
A spiny evergreen shrub.
152
strephopodia:
The medical term for clubfoot. Terms for different varieties of clubfoot will be employed in this chapter, usually with an accompanying explanation in the text itself.
152
the volume by Doctor Duval:
Vincent Duval’s
Traité Pratique du Pied-Bot
(A Practical Treatise on the Clubfoot, 1839—available online) was Flaubert’s main source for the medical information in this chapter. The book contains the pertinent information that Flaubert’s father, Achille-Cléophas Flaubert, attempted, unsuccessfully, to cure a woman of clubfoot by keeping her leg locked in an iron brace for nine months. In this case Doctor Duval himself subsequently operated successfully on the patient.
153
claudication:
Lameness, limping.
154
Ambroise Paré … Celsus … Dupuytren … Gensoul:
Ambroise Paré (c. 1510–90), surgeon to four kings of France, introduced more humane medical treatments and promoted the use of artificial limbs. Aulus Cornelius Celsus (fl.
A.D.
14) wrote an eight-volume work on medicine,
De re medicina
, that became very influential when it was rediscovered and published during the Renaissance. Guillaume Dupuytren (1777–1835), prominent French surgeon, lecturer, and author, described a contraction of the hand that bears his name. Joseph Gensoul (1797–1858), French surgeon specializing in the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, performed the first removal of the upper jaw.
154
encephalon … ablation … superior maxilla …
tenotomy knife
 … lint:
Encephalon
, brain;
ablation
, surgical removal;
superior maxilla
, upper jaw;
tenotomy knife
, a surgeon’s slender knife with a blunt curved tip, for the subcutaneous cutting of tendons;
lint
, a soft, fluffy material for dressing wounds, prepared by scraping or fraying linen or cotton cloth.
155
de visu:
Legal phrase, in Latin, meaning “having seen it ourselves.”
156
entrechats:
In ballet an entrechat is a jump into the air during which the dancer repeatedly and rapidly crosses the legs back and forth alternately.
156
ecchymoses … edema … tumefaction … phlyctenae:
Again, Flaubert is offering a succession of specialized medical terms:
ecchymoses
, bruises;
edema
, an abnormal accumulation of fluid in connective tissue;
tumefaction
, swelling;
phlyctenae
, small blisters containing transparent fluid.
157
poultices:
A poultice is a soft mass of bran, bread, or another substance, spread on cloth and usually heated, and applied to bruises or infected areas of the body; it was another favorite remedy for a wide range of ailments.
158
Bon-Secours:
Notre-Dame du Bon Secours in Blosseville, a richly decorated pilgrimage church in the vicinity of Rouen to the southeast, on an elevation overlooking the Seine.
158
holy water:
Water that has been blessed by a priest used as a purifying agent in Christian ritual.
159
strabismus, chloroform, lithotrity:
Strabismus
is the abnormal alignment of the eyes because of a muscle imbalance—perhaps the doctor is referring to an operation to correct this;
chloroform
, a colorless, sweet-smelling toxic liquid once popular as a general anesthetic;
lithotrity
, a surgical operation to crush stones in the bladder or urethra so that they can be passed out of the body.
160
apoplexy:
The older term for a stroke—a rupture or obstruction of an artery in the brain.
164
cold cream:
In English in the original.
164
dimity:
A lightweight, sheer cotton fabric with fine cords.
165
centimes:
A centime was one-hundredth of a franc.
165
Saint Peter’s Day:
June 29.
166
fifteen napoleons:
A napoleon was a twenty-franc gold coin.
166
Amor nel cor:
Italian for “Love in the heart.” Flaubert’s mistress, Louise Colet, had given him a cigar case (or holder) with the same motto on it. By the time the novel was published, their affair had ended. She was hurt by his inclusion of this detail, and in revenge she wrote and published a poem called “Amor Nel Cor” in which she referred to a certain novel as the work of a “traveling salesman.”
168
Duke of Clarence in his butt of malmsey:
George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (1449–78), a troublesome royal relative, was rumored to have been “privately executed” in the Tower of London by being drowned in a vat of malmsey wine. Shakespeare included him as a character in
Richard III.
175
Hôtel de Provence:
A fictitious Rouen hotel on the banks of the Seine. Emma will later stay there with Léon on their “honeymoon.”
178
manchineel tree:
An evergreen tree native to tropical regions. It produces a small, applelike poisonous fruit, and standing under it is dangerous because of the toxic effect of contact with its blistering, milky sap.
178
A Dieu!:
Literally, “to God”; the preceding
adieu
, “goodbye” or “farewell,” is a one-word form of the original
à Dieu
, just as the English “good bye” is a contraction of the original “God be with ye.”
183
snuff box:
Snuff is pulverized tobacco to be inhaled through the nostrils.
183
Bois-Guillaume:
A town just outside Rouen.
183
sternutative:
Homais’s fancy word for a substance that causes one to sneeze—for example, snuff.
183
emollients, dulcifiers:
An
emollient
is a substance that softens or soothes inflamed tissues; a
dulcifier
is a form of tranquilizer.
183
That is the question!:
A rather irrelevant, but popular, quotation from Hamlet’s soliloquy in Shakespeare’s
Hamlet
, act 3, scene 1.
184
mustard plasters:
A mustard plaster was a pharmaceutical preparation, one of whose ingredients was powdered mustard, stiffer than ointment and usually applied to the body spread on a piece of cloth; it was a counterirritant and was used to bring the blood to the surface of the skin.
186
tisanes:
A tisane is a drink containing a small amount of a medicinal plant substance.
187
host … ciborium:
The
host
is the eucharistic bread (made of unleavened wheat and natural water) symbolizing the body of Christ in the Christian sacrament of Communion. The
ciborium
is a goblet-shaped vessel used to hold the host.
187
reliquary:
A container for a religious relic—that is, for an object venerated because of its association with a saint or martyr.
188
Monseigneur:
The archbishop of Rouen.
188
Monsieur de Maistre:
Joseph de Maistre (c. 1754–1821), writer, was a passionate Roman Catholic, fine stylist, and literary enemy of eighteenth-century rationalism; he believed the world should be ruled absolutely by the pope as spiritual leader. Flaubert’s contempt for this thinker is indicated by his referring to him with an ironic “Monsieur” instead of giving his whole name.
BOOK: Madame Bovary
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