Cinematographic adaptation as support in FFL class: The case of madame bovary

Abstract

In the era of audio-visual, the literary text is difficult to understand, especially, the fact to be relevant to our students learning French as a second language, the understanding, however, continues to pose obstacles to the learning access of language and didactic knowledge. Thanks to the Literature and Cinematography module, we could ascertain the importance of image education, both pedagogically and didactically. The visual and sound language transmitted by the cinema allows students to easily understand the target language. The cinema is an artistic and cultural medium capable of facilitating literary education in the XXI century. The most complex and intriguing female character in French literature, Emma Bovary of Flaubert is the heroine who always returns to the honor of cinematography. Although Madame Bovary’s adaptations tell the story of Emma’s life, yet each director gives the character his vision, his interpretation. This study will examine the power of film adaptations of Madame Bovary: Jean Renoir (1934), Vincente Minnelli (1949), Claude Chabrol (1990) and Sophie Barthes (2014). Our paper consists of showing how to make a clear literary comparison about Madame Bovary’s cinematographic adaptations as well as about the work and its reception.