Bouvard Et Pecuchet

Bouvard et Pecuchet is an unfinished satirical work by Gustave Flaubert, published in 1881 after his death in 1880. Although it was conceived in 1863 as Les Deux Cloportes ("The Two Woodlice"), and partially inspired by a short story of Barthelemy Maurice (Les Deux Greffiers, "The Two Court Clerks," which appeared in La Revue des Tribunaux in 1841 and which he may have read in 1858), Flaubert did not begin the work in earnest until 1872, at a time when financial ruin threatened. Over time, the book obsessed him to the degree that he claimed to have read over 1500 books in preparation for writing it-he intended it to be his masterpiece, surpassing all of his other works. He only took a minor break, in order to compose Three Tales in 1875-76. It received lukewarm reviews: critics failed to appreciate both its message and its structural devices. Bouvard et Pecuchet details the adventures of two Parisian copy-clerks, Francois Denys Bartholomee Bouvard and Juste Romain Cyrille Pecuchet, of the same age and nearly identical temperament. They meet one hot summer day in 1838 by the canal Saint-Martin and form an instant, symbiotic friendship. When Bouvard inherits a sizable fortune, the two decide to move to the countryside. They find a 94-acre (380,000 m2) property near the town of Chavignolles in Normandy, between Caen and Falaise, and 100 miles (160 km) west of Rouen. Their search for intellectual stimulation leads them, over the course of years, to flounder through almost every branch of knowledge. Flaubert uses their quest to expose the hidden weaknesses of the sciences and arts, as nearly every project Bouvard and Pecuchet set their minds on comes to grief. Their endeavours are interleaved with the story of their deteriorating relations with the local villagers; and the Revolution of 1848 is the occasion for much despondent discussion. The manuscript breaks off near the end of the novel. According to one set of Flaubert's notes, the townsfolk, enraged by Bouvard and Pecuchet's antics, try to force them out of the area, or have them committed. Disgusted with the world in general, Bouvard and Pecuchet ultimately decide to "return to copying as before" (copier comme autrefois), giving up their intellectual blundering. The work ends with their eager preparations to construct a two-seated desk on which to write. Bouvard and Pecuchet are two middle-aged copy clerks who meet on a bench in Paris and discover immediate affection and common interest and opinion. ("They were of the same opinion, though Bouvard was perhaps a bit more liberal.") They become almost constant companions, and when Bouvard inherits money from his father, they buy property and move together to the country."