How does Madame Bovary syndrome work?

This term isn’t currently used, but Madame Bovary syndrome, or Bovarism, is a behavioral disorder that arose following the advent of 19th-century romance novels. Since then, the idealization of love has led thousands of people (especially women) to constant frustration and disappointment. The search for this “ideal love” always ends up clashing with a realistic perception of a relationship.

We’re talking about a psychopathology first described in 1892 by the philosopher Jules de Gaultier. In his essay, based on the play Madame Bovary, he refers to its protagonist, Emma, ​​as the perfect stereotype of someone suffering from what he calls “chronic emotional dissatisfaction.”