The Pharmacist's Dream: Where Charles Fourier Meets Gustave Flaubert

Abstract

Katsaros intersects the social doctrine of Charles Fourier with the literary realism of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary to argue that the town and real characters that are believed to have inspired the novel Madame Bovary were themselves inspired and guided by the social doctrine and efforts of Charles Fourier. Adolphe Jouanne, who opened a school that emulated the values of Fourier's educational doctrine by encouraging children to cultivate their own interests and engage with skills such as gardening and story telling, as well as help teach other children in a pedagogical method rather than solely being taught by their parents.