A Simple Heart

In what ways does the story portray the working-class relationship to social institutions in 19th-century France?

Félicité knows little of the world beyond the French countryside. Do the other characters know more? In what ways does the wider world feature in the novella’s largely rural setting, and what is the significance of this?

How does Virginie’s death provide a contrast between Félicité and Madame Aubain? What is Virginie’s overall role in the narrative?

Flaubert is famous for his use of free indirect discourse, a literary technique in which a third-person narrator slips partially into the voice of a character, lending realism to the latter’s thoughts and emotions. Where do you see evidence of this technique in A Simple Heart? What is its effect in terms of characterization?

Some of the novella’s most detailed imagery involves religious iconography and practice. How does Flaubert portray the Catholic Church? How does this portrayal relate to his depiction of bourgeois materialism?

Félicité’s name literally means “happiness” or “good fortune.” Discuss this in light of her story. Is her name ironic?

Consider the various forms death takes in A Simple Heart. Do the ways in which different characters die resonate symbolically? If so, how? If not, what is the significance of that?

At the end of her life, Félicité lives in the crumbling house once owned by Madame Aubain. What does this dilapidated house represent?