Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Homais' Beliefs
This may be the worst book I have ever read. It is either boring of just irritating, and most of the time, both. The only part I found remotely interesting was when Homais talked about his religion on page 69. It is somewhat similar to my own feelings about religion. Homais has faith, but not religion. Not organized religion anyway. He says, "Yes, indeed, I do worship God!.......but I don't need to go into a church and kiss silver platters and dig into my pockets to fatten up a lot of humbugs who eat eat better than you or I do. Because he can be worshiped just as well in a wood, or a field.." etc. These seem like very daring statements for the time. I don't think Flaubert would have risked ticking off the church like this if Homais didn't share some of his personal beliefs. This might be bogus, but perhaps Flaubert chose to express his opinion through a fictional character instead if saying it himself.
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2 comments:
Yep.. I totally agree. Well maybe not the worst book I've EVER read, but it is very dry, straight to the point and, well, real. Flaubert most likely used more than just one of his characters to express his beliefs and opinions, including religion.
I admire your perseverance in sticking with a book (really? the worst ever?), and I'm glad you're alert to something-anything--that might catch your attention because it resonates with your own beliefs. But I wonder what Flaubert thinks of Homais' brand of religion (again, it's hard to ever tell what Flaubert "thinks" because he gives us so few signals). Nonetheless, the passage you cite is picked up again (delightfully, I think) toward the end of the book as Homais actually debates the priest over Emma's corpse. While I can see how you find Homais' views admirable, I suspect that Flaubert finds him and the priest equally stupid.
I hope you like Barnes' book better (and through it are able to gain at least a better appreciation of Flaubert and his work).
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