Emma was like all his other mistresses; and as the charm of novelty gradually slipped… — Gustave Flaubert

Emma was like all his other mistresses; and as the charm of novelty gradually slipped from her like a piece of her clothing, he saw revealed in all its nakedness the eternal monotony of passion, which always assumes the same forms and always speaks the same language.

In the original French

Emma ressemblait a toutes les maitresses; et le charme de la noveaute, peu a peu tombant comme un vetement, laissait voir a nu l'eternelle monotonie de la passion, qui a toujours les memes formes et la meme langage.

Madame Bovary · 1856
★ 3.7
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Current citation
Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary, edited and translated by Lydia Davis. Penguin Classics, 2011, pt. 2, ch. 12.
Original citation
Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary: Moeurs de Province [Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners]. Revue de Paris, 1 Oct. 1856 - 15 Dec. 1856. Serial.