Sentimental Education Review

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SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION

PERSONAL REACTION 

This is a review of the classic 19th Century French Realist novel, “Sentimental Education.” The bottom line is that this was a frustrating novel for me—but in clearly intentional ways. Flaubert gives us a man who drifts through life without committing to anything or anyone. In the end, Frédéric Moreau comes across as selfish and narcissistic, not exactly a villain, but not a good person either. He simply cannot be bothered to be anything meaningful at all.

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SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION INTRODUCTION

This review of ” Sentimental Education” is the second review  in my ongoing series of reading the classics, following my earlier post on Madame Bovary.

Gustave Flaubert’s Sentimental Education (1869) is often seen as a companion—or perhaps a counterpoint—to Madame Bovary. While Bovary focuses tightly on one woman’s illusions and downfall in provincial France, Sentimental Education spreads out across Paris and the provinces during a period of major political upheaval.

Both novels, in their own way, explore relationships, desire, and disappointment. But where Madame Bovary is tightly structured and dramatically focused, Sentimental Education is looser, quieter, and—at least for me—more frustrating.

This is a novel that refuses to give the reader what we usually expect: resolution, growth, or even meaningful failure. Instead, it gives us drift.

SYNOPSIS 

The novel follows Frédéric Moreau, a young man from the provinces who arrives in Paris with vague ambitions: love, culture, success.

Early on, he becomes infatuated with Marie Arnoux, a married woman he idealizes for years. Around this central obsession, his life unfolds in a series of half-starts—romantic entanglements, social climbing, brushes with politics—none of which lead anywhere concrete.

Money comes and goes. Revolutions rise and fall. Friendships shift.

Frédéric remains essentially the same: watching, wanting, but rarely acting.

KEY OBSERVATION: A LIFE OF DRIFT

Frédéric is not a tragic hero. He is something far less dramatic—and perhaps more recognizable.

• He desires, but does not commit
• He moves, but does not progress
• He feels, but does not act

What makes him frustrating is not that he fails, but that he doesn’t really try.

If I were inside the novel, I would want to grab him and say: pick something—anything—and follow through.

But that is exactly what Flaubert refuses to give us.

THE BARRICADES: ACTION THAT GOES NOWHERE

One of the most interesting parts of the novel is the 1848 revolution, when Paris fills with barricades.

In another writer’s hands, this would be the moment where the hero steps forward—chooses a side, defines himself, becomes part of history.

Here, it doesn’t happen.

Frédéric drifts through the chaos the same way he drifts through everything else. He is present, but not engaged. He participates just enough to feel involved, but never enough to matter.

The revolution mirrors his life: full of energy, potential, and noise—but ultimately dissolving into nothing.

HISTORY IN THE BACKGROUND

Flaubert places the story during the upheavals of 1848—a time of real excitement and real violence.

There were protests, barricades, the fall of the monarchy, and a short-lived republic that quickly fractured into conflict and repression.

But what’s striking is how little this changes Frédéric.

History is happening all around him, and yet he remains essentially untouched.

Flaubert’s view seems clear: events alone do not shape people—character does. And Frédéric’s character is fundamentally passive.

FINAL REFLECTION

Reading Sentimental Education doesn’t feel like following a story in the usual sense. It feels more like watching time pass—watching opportunities appear and quietly vanish.

Its message is uncomfortable.

Most lives are not destroyed by dramatic failures. They are slowly worn down by hesitation, indecision, and missed chances.

That is what makes the novel feel modern.

And also, for me, what makes it so frustrating.

SHOULD YOU READ THIS?

• ✅ If you like psychological realism and subtle character studies
• ✅ If you’re interested in 19th-century France and political history

Skip It  ❌ If you want plot, momentum, or satisfying resolution

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Reading the Classics

Note:  I have been reading the classics since I retired.

Reading the Classics Updated Lists

Reading the Classics

Review of Madam Bovary

1001 Books Updated Reading List

In reading classic literature, one has to avoid what Bill Maher and others call “presentism,” reading classic literature under the prism of modern sensibilities.  One needs to read the classics in the context of their times, acknowledging that classic literature often is ableist, colonist, sexist, and racist, and one will encounter the dreaded “N” word and other objectionable language throughout.  The key is to simply acknowledge it and then move on to enjoy the story.  this is particularly true in some of the classic 19th Century French novels such as “Sentimental Education.” which contains some objectionable language for modern sensitivities.

And many of the classics would violate the principles of “Show not Tell” writing, and to modern time-starved readers,  way too long with too many tangents and sub-plots.   I doubt that many of these novels could be published today.

  

Author’s Note / Disclosure

 This article is based on my decades of experience traveling, living, and working in South Korea since the late 1970s, including service with the Peace Corps, work at the U.S. Embassy, and extended periods of semi retirement in Korea, as well as growing up in Berkeley in the 60s, attending college in the 70s, graduate school in the 80s, teaching in Korea in the 80s, and 27 years of service with the State Department. .  Author Bio (Short Form) Jake Cosmos Aller is a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer and writer on governance reform and the future of democracy.

 

Disclaimer (Publication Style), Use of AI tools

The views expressed are solely those of the author.

I used Microsoft Copilot as a research and organizational tool to help compile place names and reference lists, and basic editing for flow, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.. The narrative, interpretations, and final presentation are my own.