Flaubert's manuscripts for Chapter I:6 of Madame Bovary explicitly develop reading as a causal element in Emma's character and downfall. The treatment of moral tales for children (the Littérature du seconde âge ) and Paul et Virginie reflects a dual evolution, in which both the choice of texts and Emma's approach to reading them are manipulated to accentuate the vapidity of her education and remove any hint of critical faculty. The manuscript evidence thus validates the contextual signifi cance of the argument made by the defense during the 1857 trial, which cited the importance of Emma's education in interpreting the novel.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.