She was his universe, his muse and an inexhaustible object of study. In 2021, Normandy
celebrates the bicentenary of the birth of Gustave Flaubert, the native child. “The Norman color of the book will be so true that it will scandalize them” commented the writer about his novel “Madame Bovary”. Today we are not much moved by these daring but rather by an avant-garde style and descriptions of landscapes that herald Impressionist painting. From the cliffs of Etretat to the cathedral of Rouen, passing by the beach of Trouville, we take you in the footsteps of a crazy writer from Normandy!
1. In Rouen, we salute the birth of a genius
The people of Rouen did not always appreciate Flaubert and he himself was not kind to his city. Two centuries after his birth, the city of a hundred spiers and the writer were reconciled. One can without risking censorship visit Notre-Dame cathedral in the light of admirable pages and contemplate the high spire ” 440 feet tall, nine less than the great pyramid of Egypt ” (151 meters), the stained glass window of Saint-Julien L’Hospitalier or the Booksellers’ portal. We can also reproduce the crazy race of the cab which takes Emma Bovary and her lover ” with taut blinds ” from one end of the city to the other. And step by step, reconstruct the itinerary of a lifetime: the birthplace in a wing of the Hôtel-Dieu, now a museum
Flaubert and the History of Medicine where the family’s apartment has been restored, the Flaubert pavilion in Croisset (under construction, reopening for the summer), the only vestige of his residence, and the Monumental cemetery, classified as a remarkable cemetery Europe where he has been based since 1880.
2. In the Pays d’Auge, we collect childhood memories
From the green valley of the Touques around Pont-l’Evêque to Honfleur via Trouville-sur-Mer where ” all my memories of my youth cry under my feet like the shells on the beach “, the Pays d’Auge is the kingdom of childhood that Flaubert brings to life in his short story A Simple Heart . In Geffosses, in the old family estate, the Petit Manoir where he stayed still welcomes guests between a cider press and a Calvados boilery. And on the beach of Trouville, float the laughter of Gustave and his sister running after the ” flakes of foam ” and the scent of the first emotions. In 1836, at the age of 14 and a half, Gustave Flaubert picked up the cloak of a bather, Elisa Schlésinger, on the sand. It will be his ” only true passion“which will partly inspire Ms. Arnoux in L’Education sentimentale . Ironically, the statue of the writer looks today towards the Mercure hotel, formerly Bellevue hotel which belonged to the husband of the beautiful” ardent pupil. “…
3. In Ry we beat the countryside with Madame Bovary
What does it matter if Flaubert denied being inspired by the tragic story of a couple from the village. Near Rouen, Ry is called the Yonville-l’Abbaye de Madame Bovary . From the village to the “Grand’rue” long range“, a stroll in 66 kms and 15 signposted stages brings out some nuggets evoking the Flaubertian universe: wooden halls (17th century) of the Buchy market reminiscent of the agricultural fairs of yesteryear, Château du Bois-Héroult, hunting lodge of La Huchette, place of the gallant rendezvous of Emma Bovary, park of the castle of Héron where Flaubert attended a ball whose splendor he restores in the novel. At the castle of Martainville-Epreville (15th century), one of the first testimonies From the Norman Renaissance, the Museum of Norman Traditions and Arts retraces, through unique collections, rural life from the 15th to the 19th century, a beautiful counterpoint to the work of the man who so well portrayed the habits and customs of his region.
4. In Lyons-la-Forêt we make a movie with Emma
This year, with the bicentenary of the birth of Flaubert, Lyons-la-Forêt is making its cinema more than ever! Chosen by Jean Renoir in 1933 and Claude Chabrol in 1991 for their adaptations of Madame Bovary, this borough of the Eure classified among the Most beautiful Villages of France, has everything of Yonville-the ideal abbey: the syllable “yon” of its name, its river and especially an exceptional heritage, with its half-timbered houses of the XVIIth century and eighteenth centuries and its listed monuments. Signs indicate the filming sets, inviting you to rediscover the place, from the 13th century hall to the wall hanging studded with fleur-de-lis in the bailiwick. We will not forget, in this amorous cinematographic itinerary, the forest, the largest beech grove in Europe where Isabelle Huppert and Christophe Malavoy, the actors of the version of Chabrol consume their idyll.
5. On the Alabaster coast, we are reviewing its Norman geology
If Le Havre and its region make a fleeting appearance in his novels, Flaubert gave free rein to his passion for geology with the Alabaster coast. From Havre to Fécamp, via Etretat, we set off along the GR21 in the footsteps of Bouvard and Pécuchet, his duo of learned apprentices from the eponymous novel. With its ” valleys “, these green perched valleys and its high chalky cliffs (up to 105 m) notched with rare access to the sea, this atypical coastline still impresses as much. One strolls there between sloping paths ” shining like polished alabaster “, cliffs going ” towards the horizon like the curve of a rampart “, and dazzling panoramas on the sea.
6. Flaubert is celebrated throughout Normandy
Between April 2021 and June 2022, more than 200 meetings are planned as part of the Flaubert21 project, subject to changes in health measures. In Rouen, several exhibitions are organized, “Salammbô Fury! Passion! Elephants!” around the eponymous novel at the Musée des Beaux-Arts (23/04 to 19/09), “Madame rêve en Bovary”, at the Maison Marrou and the Opera (9/04 to 14/11), immersive event outside the walls from the Museum of Norman Arts & Traditions or “In the intimacy of Flaubert” with unpublished portraits at the Flaubert Museum and the History of Medicine (from 01/07). And on August 28, a cab ride with a visit to the cathedral invites you to reread Flaubert in the company of two actors. In Lyons-La Forêt, guided tours on the theme “Lyons makes his cinema” are offered,