Emma's life was greatly influenced by her reading. She lived in a world of fiction rather than in the real world. She wanted the things she read about to come alive in her own life. The idea of romantic nights, old castles, and moonlight meetings supplied a satisfaction in her that she couldn't find anywhere else. She needed constant excitement and change. If she never read these romantic novels, then she would not have been a dreamer and a sentimentalist. Her normal life of everyday living would have kept her content rather than intolerable. Emma discovered romantic novels as a young girl living in a convent. Unable to see the real world or the realities of everyday living, she was left alone with her dreams. She concentrated all of her attention on them and nothing else. These novels influenced her entire approach to life. When Emma first met Charles she believed he could make her happy. however, after they were married she soon began finding many faults about him. Charles had no desire to do or see anything. Emma wanted a man who would introduce her to new things and inspire her to live life to the fullest. "Before she had married she thought she was in love. But the happiness that should have resulted from this love had not come; she must have deceived herself, she thought. Emma sought to learn what was really meant in life by the words "happiness," "passion," and "intoxication"--words that had seemed so beautiful in her books." (55). She was dissatisfied with her life and searched constanly for a way to change it. Emma constantly asked herself "My God, why did I get married?" (63).One of the highest points in Emma's life was when Charles and her were invited to the home of the Marquis d'Andervilliers. She was overjoyed at the idea of staying at the chateau. Everything she had dreamed and read about turned into a reality. Unlike Charles, Emma blended in with the higher class. She had the necessary qualitie...
