How did Stendhal and Gustave Flaubert explore individual motivation in their novels?

In the context of 19th-century French literature, both Stendhal and Gustave Flaubert utilized the novel to conduct profound psychological inquiries, though they employed distinct methods to explore individual motivation.

Stendhal rejected the notion of fixed psychological makeup, instead depicting his characters as individuals in the process of becoming. His protagonists, such as Julien Sorel in The Red and the Black, are driven by the tension between their personal ambitions and the constraints of a conformist society. Stendhal’s narrative style—characterized by irony and authorial commentary—grants his characters the freedom to discover themselves, often highlighting the conflict between the desire for worldly success and the pursuit of a rich inner life.12

Conversely, Flaubert explored motivation by examining how individuals are shaped by their illusions and the banality of their environments. In Madame Bovary, he portrays Emma Bovary as a victim of her own romantic fantasies, which are fueled by popular literature and clash with the dullness of provincial life. Flaubert used a precise, analytical style to mold his prose to the specific personality and limitations of each character, revealing how their motivations are often corroded by reality and social convention.34