Spiritual maturity.

I had been reading Flaubert's Madame Bouvary a week or so ago. It is a sad book. The Madame is a superficial, unfulfilled woman who deceives her husband with adulterous relationships. She despises him, and, yet, she remains with him and lives unashamedly in the comforts of the life which he makes possible for her. She represents everything one does not want to do with your life. The more excitement, the less happiness. And when things go wrong, she suddenly becomes very religious - until her next relationship. She is not good company. So I was not too unhappy to finally close the book on her character.

And yet, the book remained in my thoughts. Because of the love of her huaband, Charles. He adored her, never suspected her of being unfaithful to him. She could do nothing wrong in his eyes.

What a character, so consumed by love.

And, finally, there is the climax of the book (for me) when he discovers the letters of her lovers after her death. And the amazing closure when he meets one of her lovers and...

Someone ought to write a novel with him as the main character.