A Simple Soul

A Simple Soul by Gustave Flaubert

A Simple Heart is a classic novel by the French writer Gustave Flaubert first published in his collection of novels Three Tales in 1877. The story centers on a servant named Felicité. Felicité's only love, Théodore, marries a richer woman to avoid conscription. Leaving the farm where she works, Felicité goes to Pont-l'Évèque and becomes a widow's maid. There she lives her life in humble, angelic and deeply loyal servitude. Although she is ignorant, she has no family, no life outside of her work apart from her her faith in her, and she dies almost unnoticed by anyone, Felicité's simple existence is filled with deep spiritual meaning. Some of the novel's themes include the consolations of the church and home life, the richness of memory, and the repercussions of daily events on the psyche. The story inspired Julian Barnes' novel Flaubert's Parrot, published in 1984.