Flaubert und die Herkunft des modernen Romans

The book opens with a vivid portrait of a young writer caught between the fevered idealism of Romantic adventure and the emerging discipline of a colder, more objective realism. It follows Flaubert’s restless circle of dream‑driven comrades as they chase tales of duels, exotic wars and grand love, only to confront a Paris that remains forever out of reach. In this early stage the author’s inner conflict—hate for bourgeois complacency and a relentless urge to hide lyrical excess—already shapes the seeds of a new narrative voice.

From that foothold the work charts how Flaubert’s self‑imposed exile from his own youthful passions forged the impersonal, ironical style that would define the modern novel. The analysis blends close reading of his early prose with broader cultural context, showing how his personal rebellion against sentimentality gave rise to a disciplined, scientific approach to fiction. Listeners will come away with a clearer sense of why the struggle between heart and craft mattered not just for Flaubert, but for the very shape of contemporary storytelling.