Bouvard and Pécuchet

Historical Context and Significance

Gustave Flaubert's novel «Bouvard and Pécuchet», published posthumously in 1881, is a satirical work that mocks human folly and the futile attempts to achieve knowledge. The book tells the story of two clerks, Bouvard and Pécuchet, who decide to dedicate their lives to studying various sciences and arts, but invariably fail. Flaubert uses their adventures to criticize superficial understanding and amateurism, as well as bureaucracy and pseudoscience. The novel had a significant impact on literature and culture, becoming a symbol of the futility of human efforts and the limitations of the human mind. It also anticipated many themes that would develop in 20th-century literature, such as absurdity and existentialism.