Summary
Charles attempts his first surgery—correcting a club foot—driven by Emma's desire for his success and the pharmacist Homais's relentless persuasion. Despite having no surgical experience, Charles operates on Hippolyte, the inn's stable boy, while the whole town watches with anticipation. Initially, the operation seems successful, and Charles basks in newfound confidence while Emma feels proud of pushing him toward greatness. Homais even writes a glowing newspaper article celebrating the medical triumph. But within days, disaster strikes. Hippolyte's foot becomes severely infected with gangrene, requiring a specialist to amputate his entire leg. The botched surgery becomes village gossip, destroying Charles's reputation and confidence. Emma watches her husband's failure with disgust, realizing she had foolishly believed he could be more than mediocre. As Hippolyte screams in agony during the amputation, Emma's contempt for Charles reaches a breaking point. She reflects on all her sacrifices and compromises, feeling trapped in a life with a man she now sees as completely inadequate. When Charles seeks comfort from her, she rejects him violently, and the chapter ends with her meeting Rodolphe in the garden, seeking solace in her affair. This pivotal moment shows how a single disastrous decision can expose the fundamental weaknesses in both a person and a marriage.
Coming Up in Chapter 21
Emma's affair with Rodolphe intensifies as she seeks escape from her crumbling marriage. But passion and desperation can lead to dangerous choices that threaten to destroy everything she's tried to build.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Chapter Eleven He had recently read a eulogy on a new method for curing club-foot, and as he was a partisan of progress, he conceived the patriotic idea that Yonville, in order to keep to the fore, ought to have some operations for strephopody or club-foot. “For,” said he to Emma, “what risk is there? See--” (and he enumerated on his fingers the advantages of the attempt), “success, almost certain relief and beautifying of the patient, celebrity acquired by the operator. Why, for example, should not your husband relieve poor Hippolyte of the ‘Lion d’Or’? Note that he would not fail to tell about his cure to all the travellers, and then” (Homais lowered his voice and looked round him) “who is to prevent me from sending a short paragraph on the subject to the paper? Eh! goodness me! an article gets about; it is talked of; it ends by making a snowball! And who knows? who knows?” In fact, Bovary might succeed. Nothing proved to Emma that he was not clever; and what a satisfaction for her to have urged him to a step by which his reputation and fortune would be increased! She only wished to lean on something more solid than love. Charles, urged by the druggist and by her, allowed himself to be persuaded. He sent to Rouen for Dr. Duval’s volume, and every evening, holding his head between both hands, plunged into the reading of it. While he was studying equinus, varus, and valgus, that is to say, katastrephopody, endostrephopody, and exostrephopody (or better, the various turnings of the foot downwards, inwards, and outwards, with the hypostrephopody and anastrephopody), otherwise torsion downwards and upwards, Monsier Homais, with all sorts of arguments, was exhorting the lad at the inn to submit to the operation. “You will scarcely feel, probably, a slight pain; it is a simple prick, like a little blood-letting, less than the extraction of certain corns.” Hippolyte, reflecting, rolled his stupid eyes. “However,” continued the chemist, “it doesn’t concern me. It’s for your sake, for pure humanity! I should like to see you, my friend, rid of your hideous caudication, together with that waddling of the lumbar regions which, whatever you say, must considerably interfere with you in the exercise of your calling.” Then Homais represented to him how much jollier and brisker he would feel afterwards, and even gave him to understand that he would be more likely to please the women; and the stable-boy began to smile heavily. Then he attacked him through his vanity: “Aren’t you a man? Hang it! what would you have done if you had had to go into the army, to go and fight beneath the standard? Ah! Hippolyte!” And Homais retired, declaring that he could not understand this obstinacy, this blindness in refusing the benefactions of science. The poor fellow gave way, for it was like a conspiracy. Binet, who never interfered with other people’s business, Madame Lefrancois, Artémise, the neighbours, even the mayor, Monsieur Tuvache--everyone...
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Borrowed Confidence
When external pressure and desire to please override honest assessment of our abilities, leading to failure that damages both outcomes and relationships.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to evaluate whether an opportunity matches your current capabilities or if you're being set up to fail by others' unrealistic expectations.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone pushes you toward a responsibility you're not prepared for—ask yourself: are they offering support to succeed, or just expecting you to figure it out?
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Strephopody
The medical term for club foot, a birth defect where the foot is twisted inward. In Flaubert's time, surgical correction was experimental and dangerous. Homais uses this fancy term to make Charles's proposed surgery sound more impressive and scientific.
Modern Usage:
Like when someone uses technical jargon to make a simple or risky idea sound more legitimate and professional.
Gangrene
Death of body tissue due to lack of blood flow, often from infection. In the 1800s, this was frequently fatal and required amputation. Charles's botched surgery causes Hippolyte's foot to develop gangrene, requiring his leg to be cut off.
Modern Usage:
We still see gangrene in severe diabetes cases or when wounds get badly infected and aren't treated properly.
Provincial ambition
The desire of small-town people to gain recognition and status by attempting things beyond their abilities. Both Emma and Homais push Charles to perform surgery he's not qualified for, hoping it will bring fame and respectability.
Modern Usage:
Like when people in small towns try to become influencers or start businesses they're not prepared for, just to feel important.
Medical quackery
Practicing medicine without proper training or knowledge, often with disastrous results. Charles attempts complex surgery after only reading one book, with no practical experience or proper supervision.
Modern Usage:
Similar to people who watch YouTube videos and think they can do their own electrical work or diagnose their own medical conditions.
Social climbing through marriage
Emma's strategy of pushing Charles toward success to improve their social status and her own satisfaction. She believes that if he becomes a respected surgeon, it will elevate their position in society and make her marriage more bearable.
Modern Usage:
Like when someone pushes their spouse to get promotions or start businesses, not for love but to upgrade their lifestyle and social status.
Enabler
Someone who encourages destructive behavior by making excuses or providing support for poor decisions. Homais enables Charles's surgical disaster by convincing him he can succeed and even writing a premature celebration article.
Modern Usage:
Like friends who encourage someone to quit their job to become an artist when they have no talent, or family members who enable addiction.
Characters in This Chapter
Charles Bovary
Tragic protagonist
Attempts his first surgery despite having no experience, driven by his wife's ambition and the pharmacist's persuasion. His failure destroys his confidence and exposes his fundamental mediocrity, leading to Emma's complete loss of respect for him.
Modern Equivalent:
The guy who thinks he can flip houses after watching HGTV, then loses everything on the first project.
Emma Bovary
Ambitious wife
Pushes Charles toward the surgery hoping it will make him successful and elevate their status. When he fails catastrophically, her contempt for him reaches a breaking point, driving her further into her affair with Rodolphe.
Modern Equivalent:
The wife who pushes her husband to start a business he's not ready for, then loses all respect when it fails.
Homais
Manipulative enabler
The pharmacist who convinces Charles to attempt the surgery by appealing to his vanity and patriotic duty. He even writes a newspaper article celebrating the 'success' before the disaster unfolds, showing his role in the catastrophe.
Modern Equivalent:
The friend who talks you into risky investments or get-rich-quick schemes, then disappears when things go wrong.
Hippolyte
Innocent victim
The stable boy with a club foot who becomes the guinea pig for Charles's surgical experiment. His suffering and eventual amputation represent the real human cost of other people's ambitions and incompetence.
Modern Equivalent:
The person who gets hurt when someone else's bad decision or negligence affects innocent bystanders.
Rodolphe
Emma's escape route
Emma turns to him for comfort after witnessing Charles's complete failure and humiliation. He represents her way of escaping the reality of her disappointing marriage and mediocre life.
Modern Equivalent:
The person someone runs to when their marriage or life situation becomes unbearable.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Nothing proved to Emma that he was not clever; and what a satisfaction for her to have urged him to a step by which his reputation and fortune would be increased!"
Context: When Emma is convincing herself that Charles should attempt the surgery
This shows Emma's self-deception and her desire to transform Charles into someone worthy of her ambitions. She wants to believe in his potential because she needs their marriage to mean something more than it does.
In Today's Words:
She had no proof he was smart, but she really wanted to believe pushing him would finally make them successful.
"She only wished to lean on something more solid than love."
Context: Describing Emma's motivation for pushing Charles toward the surgery
This reveals that Emma has given up on romantic love and now seeks practical success and social status. She needs external validation and achievement because the emotional foundation of her marriage has failed.
In Today's Words:
Love wasn't enough anymore - she needed something concrete to make the marriage worthwhile.
"All her immediate surroundings, the wearisome country, the middle-class imbeciles, the mediocrity of existence, seemed to her exceptional, a particular chance that had seized on her, while beyond stretched, as far as eye could see, an immense land of joys and passions."
Context: After the surgery fails and Emma realizes Charles's complete inadequacy
Emma sees her life as uniquely terrible and believes she deserves better. This self-pity and sense of being trapped drives her toward increasingly desperate attempts to escape her reality through affairs and fantasy.
In Today's Words:
Everything around her - the boring town, stupid people, ordinary life - felt like a cruel joke, while she imagined amazing experiences were happening everywhere else.
Thematic Threads
Competence
In This Chapter
Charles attempts surgery far beyond his medical training, resulting in disaster
Development
Previously shown through his basic medical practice; now escalated to dangerous overreach
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when asked to take on responsibilities you know you're not qualified for
Social Pressure
In This Chapter
Emma's ambition and Homais's persuasion push Charles into the surgery despite his doubts
Development
Building from earlier chapters where social expectations drive poor decisions
In Your Life:
You might feel this when family or colleagues pressure you to take risks you're uncomfortable with
Pride
In This Chapter
Charles basks in temporary glory before the devastating failure, while Emma's pride in him quickly turns to shame
Development
Continues the theme of pride leading to downfall seen throughout the novel
In Your Life:
You might experience this when early success in a new role makes you overconfident about your abilities
Consequences
In This Chapter
Hippolyte loses his leg, Charles loses his reputation, and Emma loses respect for her husband
Development
Escalates from previous chapters' smaller consequences to life-altering damage
In Your Life:
You might face this when one poor decision at work affects multiple people and relationships
Disillusionment
In This Chapter
Emma's romantic vision of Charles as a successful doctor crumbles completely
Development
Culminates her growing disappointment with Charles and their marriage
In Your Life:
You might feel this when someone you believed in repeatedly fails to meet basic expectations
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What convinced Charles to attempt the surgery, and why did he ignore his lack of experience?
analysis • surface - 2
How did Emma's expectations and Homais's influence create a perfect storm for disaster?
analysis • medium - 3
Where have you seen people take on responsibilities they weren't qualified for because others pushed them to do it?
application • medium - 4
What warning signs should Charles have heeded, and how can you recognize when you're being pushed beyond your competence?
application • deep - 5
Why do we sometimes let other people's confidence in us override our own honest self-assessment?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Competence Zones
Draw three circles: your comfort zone (what you do well), your stretch zone (what you could learn with support), and your danger zone (what you're not ready for). Think about current pressures in your life and place each request or expectation in the appropriate circle. Notice which zone most of your stress comes from.
Consider:
- •Be honest about what you actually know versus what others think you know
- •Consider the consequences if you fail in each zone
- •Think about what support or training would move something from danger zone to stretch zone
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you took on something you weren't qualified for because someone else believed in you. What happened? What would you do differently now?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 21: The Escape Plan Unfolds
As the story unfolds, you'll explore people justify major life decisions when caught between desire and responsibility, while uncovering the warning signs when someone's commitment doesn't match their words. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.