Madame Bovary, Part 3, Chapter 8 summary

What happens

1. Emma visits Rodolphe, revives their intimacy, and asks for three thousand francs to prevent the seizure of her household possessions.
2. Rodolphe says he lacks the money, and Emma condemns his selfishness before leaving in distress.
3. Emma persuades Justin to unlock the storeroom, eats arsenic, returns home, and seals a letter explaining her poisoning.
4. Charles reads the letter as Emma’s symptoms worsen, and Homais summons Canivet and Doctor Lariviere.
5. Treatment fails, Berthe recoils from her suffering mother, and Monsieur Bournisien administers the last rites.
6. Emma examines herself in a mirror, hears the blind man singing, laughs desperately, and dies.

In this chapter

What to notice

The physician confirms that Emma cannot be saved. His judgment contrasts with Charles’s repeated hopes that another treatment can help.

Quick check