Feeling terribly sad after reading Madame Bovary

By ShadowSwan8

After I finish a book, I always feel a bit lonely, like once I’m in it I can’t really stop. I kind of wish I could read more off and on instead of knocking it all out at once. But with *Mme Bovary* it wasn’t that lonely feeling—it just made me really sad. I honestly wish I hadn’t read it. I feel like we’re so used to stories that end with something positive and uplifting (and that’s been pushed a lot, especially with social media) that it’s hard to deal with an artwork that ends in total hopelessness. It just feels awful and uncomfortable.