Essay Questions

In what ways is Flaubert a realist?

Flaubert believed that a novelist did not have the right to comment or express his/her own opinion on anything. He approached writing with scientific objectivity, meaning that he did not judge objects in order to discover their nature. He was impersonal and impartial in his writing.

Discuss the various roles that the parrot, Loulou, plays in the story.

Loulou is Felicite's pet bird, but is also in a way her lover, child, and religious idol. Throughout the story, Felicite becomes strangely attached to the parrot, and we learn that the bird represents much of what she has missed out on in life. She has had no children and she never married, and the bird serves to fill those roles. Perhaps the most bizarre aspect of Felicite's relationship is that she at one time confuses the Holy Spirit with Loulou while in prayer. She also hallucinates right before her death that she sees a parrot in the gates of heaven. This can be linked to Felicite's incapacity to understand religion.

In what ways is Felicite afflicted by loss?

- She missed out on the chance for a better life and runs away to find busy work on a farm.

- After her nephew, Victor’s, death, she refuses to visit her sister and clings to her work.

- After the death of the child, Virginia, she goes to the cemetery instead of Mrs. Aubain (Virginia’s mother).

- Loulou, her pet parrot, dies and we see the physical and mental degradation of Felicite, as this is the most painful wound that she has suffered.

In what ways is Felicite “simple”?

Felicite lives an un-extraordinary life and is relatable in that she has no special qualities. She does not spend time thinking deeply and instead is a very serious worker. Felicite has never had a formal education or gone to church. She has no grasp of how big the world is and thinks that when it rains where she is, it also must be raining in Cuba, where her nephew is, and she worries about him. The concept of God is hard to comprehend for Felicite, and she at one point confuses her pet parrot for the Holy Spirit. Felicite never ends up making time for herself and remains a faithful, diligent worker until she dies.