Pierre-Marc de Biasi's Study Uncovers Flaubert's 'Third Self'

In a study published by Éditions Grasset, Pierre-Marc de Biasi examines Gustave Flaubert's manuscripts and working notebooks to reveal what he calls 'the third Flaubert'—beyond the impersonal author of the novels and the massive correspondence. De Biasi argues that Flaubert's disgust with bourgeois stupidity, which he called 'la Bêtise,' permeates all his work. Analyzing Madame Bovary, de Biasi notes a 'grating and acidic tonality' beneath the harmonious surface, a sarcastic melodic line that reflects Flaubert's revulsion. He shows that Flaubert created a systematic tension between two universes: the 'dirty' (19th-century France) and the 'clean' (ancient Orient), a dialectic that structures his entire oeuvre. By examining deleted passages from the manuscripts, de Biasi discovers that Emma Bovary becomes an expert in voluptuousness, with marginal additions describing her 'drowned in come, tears, hair, and champagne' and a love so violent it turns to sadism. He also draws parallels between Flaubert's travel notes and his novels, suggesting that the young Azizeh from Voyage en Égypte may have inspired Salomé's dance in Hérodias, and that the violet-striped shawl in L'Éducation sentimentale borrows its colors from the dark violet gauze covering Koutchouk's breasts in the same travel account. De Biasi's work demonstrates how Flaubert's new way of writing constituted a style of life, with intimate secrets 'encrypted' beneath the beauty of the works.