It took 25 years to finalize the publication, how did Flaubert sculpt The Temptation of St. Anthony?

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Gustave ▪ Flaubert was an outstanding novelist who shone in the French literary scene in the 19th century after Stendhal and Balzac. Flaubert, who devoted his life to writing, did not have many finished products. Including the unfinished novel Bouvard and Pecuche, he has only 5 novels and 3 short stories. Nevertheless, Flaubert has surpassed many of his contemporaries and has steadily entered the ranks of masters.

"The Temptation of Saint Anthony" is a masterpiece of fiction by the great French writer Flaubert. The first draft of the work was first drafted in 1849 and officially published in 1874, spanning a total of 25 years, during which Flaubert also completed three novels: "Sarangbao", "Emotional Education" and "Madame Bovary".

The Temptation of St. Anthony, which ran through almost the entire life of Flaubert, is based on the legend of the saints, that is, the egyptian monk Antony resisted various temptations in the desert.

In 1845, Flaubert's sister Caroline traveled to Italy on a newlywed trip, accompanied by Flaubert. At the Barbi Palace in Genoa, Flaubert saw the oil painting "The Temptation of St. Anthony" by the Dutch painter Bruegel Sr. and was inspired to write.

The Byronian poem "Cain" and the Goethe poem "Faust" that he read as a teenager also gave Flaubert a lot of inspiration and reference. The emergence of this series of factors influenced Flaubert's ideas to a greater or lesser extent, and after a long time of brewing, Flaubert wrote the novel "The Temptation of St. Anthony".

Divided into 7 chapters, the novel depicts in detail the spiritual illusions that Antony had on one night, in which the Queen of Sheba, the devil, and Anthony's own disciples placed before him countless great temptations: power, pleasure, wealth, oracles, scriptures, rituals... In the name of science, the devil tries to create obstacles, hide the secrets of the universe, and make Anthony disoriented.

From the time the sun sets to the moment when the morning sun rises, Anthony experiences a series of dreams, as if in a dream trance. Eventually, Anthony emerged from the puzzle and headed for a new life. The entire novel is written in the form of prose poetry (or poetic drama), reflecting the author's aversion to materialistic society, resistance to external temptations, and rebellion against religious delusions.

In terms of life beliefs, people should take refuge in nature, understand the universe, and eventually find the habitat of the soul in the beautiful environment of nature. Even if tempted by greed, evil thoughts, possessions, and beauty, and instigated by foolishness and foolishness in God, man must maintain his love for the truth and his admiration for science.

There is a passage in the book about science, which the author thinks is very incisive, and is now excerpted as follows: "My kingdom is as vast as the universe, and my desires are boundless. I will forever liberate my mind, measure the world, without hate, without fear, without mercy, without love, without God. My name is Science. Flaubert's ending setting of finally getting Antony out of the puzzle shows his doubts about the supremacy of religion and his yearning for truth, nature, and the science of knowledge.

The temptation that the devil throws at Anthony is actually faced by everyone in real life. It's just that Anthony was put through a lot of tests on a strange night, while ordinary people are experiencing unexpected tests at certain times or stages in their lives.

All the tests that appear on the road of life are a fortune, or an opportunity. It allows us to know more about our unknown selves and the vast world in which we live. Keeping the purity and goodness of the heart and not wavering in one's principles, it is not easy to fall into the swamp and go astray.

Flaubert himself neither admitted himself to romanticism nor considered himself an absolutely realistic writer. He refused to have anything to do with any literary genre, and he opposed people labeling any genre in his work.

From this point of view, Flaubert is undoubtedly innovative and maverick. The insistence on objectively describing the characters and creating the environment also reflects Flaubert's artistic pursuit, that is, to let the characters in the story express themselves freely and leave a mark in people's minds with his own charm.