Of adorable villains
I dedicate today's post to Monsieur Homais, self-proclaimed ruler of Yonville, king of the jungle, chauvinist extraordinaire, and funniest villain ever.
Many people hate Homais. It's not hard to see why. He absolutely rules over Yonville. He is so annoyingly pompous and intrusive that sometimes, you just want to smack him. He gets his much coveted Legion of Honour (and has sex with his wife) while the poor heroine dies a painful death. He destroys his enemies mercilessly. He is, in short, a royal prick that never, ever gets caught.
But what would Madame Bovary be without Homais?
Repetitive and uninteresting drivel? Maybe not, but it would certainly lose most of the humour that provides essential comic relief in a human tragedy that is, on occasion, awfully depressing.
Scenario: Charles Bovary decides to operate on Hippolyte's club-foot. Considering Charles' incompetence, the operation predictably goes wrong. Hippolyte's leg gets infected, and erupts with vividly described pus. Emma is distraught at her husband's sheer mediocrity. Hippolyte is dying. Homais rushes to the scene and says: 'What can have happened to our fascinating taliped?'
Fascinating taliped? How can you read that and keep a straight face? A pat on the back to you, Monsieur Homais, for being just so inappropriately hilarious.
Of the caricatures that populate Yonville, Homais is perhaps the most significant. As a declaredly progressive member of society, he is really no different than the next bourgeois; narrow-minded, mean-spirited, materialist to the end, he epitomizes the very spirit that Emma battles against for so long. Emma, who wants to escape the confines of her provincial existence, is balanced by Homais the pharmacist, who thrives on that existence. He wins, in the end, and we hate him for it.
Or at least we're supposed to hate him for it. Personally, I love him. Besides, I'd rather be Homais and get a nice Legion of Honour than be Emma, and die of arsenic poisoning. Wouldn't you?
Many people hate Homais. It's not hard to see why. He absolutely rules over Yonville. He is so annoyingly pompous and intrusive that sometimes, you just want to smack him. He gets his much coveted Legion of Honour (and has sex with his wife) while the poor heroine dies a painful death. He destroys his enemies mercilessly. He is, in short, a royal prick that never, ever gets caught.
But what would Madame Bovary be without Homais?
Repetitive and uninteresting drivel? Maybe not, but it would certainly lose most of the humour that provides essential comic relief in a human tragedy that is, on occasion, awfully depressing.
Scenario: Charles Bovary decides to operate on Hippolyte's club-foot. Considering Charles' incompetence, the operation predictably goes wrong. Hippolyte's leg gets infected, and erupts with vividly described pus. Emma is distraught at her husband's sheer mediocrity. Hippolyte is dying. Homais rushes to the scene and says: 'What can have happened to our fascinating taliped?'
Fascinating taliped? How can you read that and keep a straight face? A pat on the back to you, Monsieur Homais, for being just so inappropriately hilarious.
Of the caricatures that populate Yonville, Homais is perhaps the most significant. As a declaredly progressive member of society, he is really no different than the next bourgeois; narrow-minded, mean-spirited, materialist to the end, he epitomizes the very spirit that Emma battles against for so long. Emma, who wants to escape the confines of her provincial existence, is balanced by Homais the pharmacist, who thrives on that existence. He wins, in the end, and we hate him for it.
Or at least we're supposed to hate him for it. Personally, I love him. Besides, I'd rather be Homais and get a nice Legion of Honour than be Emma, and die of arsenic poisoning. Wouldn't you?
Labels: Books
posted by The Poodle's Friend at 10:16 PM
2 Comments:
You do have a rather distorted mind. However, I have to agree with your reasoning. Havnt read the book but I like him. Evil characters are always my favourite in books, although, im sure you already know what by now.
Arsenic poisoning, thats how she dies, sorry i mistook it for consumption. Arsenic poisinging is definately way cooler ;)
yes well, i guess the evil characters ARE appealing.... i absolutely have got to read the book now... it might give me some ideas about the most effective method to poison ppl with arsenic. I was told apple seeds contain arsenic, but i have no idea how much would be needed to ensure it to be effective. hmmm
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