Two of the most famous women in literature, the lives of Madame Bovary and Madame Dalloway, although very different from each other, have quite a few similarities. Both women seem dissatisfied with their lives, although for very different reasons. Mrs. Dalloway, the heroine of Virginia Woolf's novel, lives in the world of the rich. Some of her daily concerns in life include making sure that the party guests will enjoy the appearance of the house and that the food and wine that will be consumed will be excellent. Madame Bovary, for her part, is a bourgeois woman and has a little difficulty in her daily life. Although quite comfortable in her life, Madame Bovary yearns and insists on having more things in her life because she would like to live the life of the rich. The two women both seem unhappy with the lives they lead because they each feel that something is missing. Dalloway is portrayed as a wealthy woman, who lives a rather happy life and is carefree when it comes to obtaining material goods and wealth. She chose to marry a rich man instead of her longtime friend who she knew loved her so much. She seems content with the way things are going in her life, but knows deep down that there is more to life than material wealth. The unfolding day in Mrs. Dalloway's life shows how she thought about what could have happened if things had been different and if she had chosen love and adventure over wealth and security. The story of Clarissa Dalloway also focuses on the life of Septimus Warren Smith, a World War I veteran who is Mrs. Dalloway's neighbor. This concentration was demonstrated in order to be able to compare Mrs. Dalloway's thoughts when she saw the ambulance being taken away...... middle of paper ...... feasts and riches, which she did not see that if she did things right, she could have achieved all this with Charles and the money he generously gave her. Madame Bovary, although Flaubert attempted to show her as somewhat virtuous by initially refusing money in exchange for sexual favors, is too passionate and sexual a person for her own good. She is a free-spirited and very sexual person who should not be tied down to a child or a relationship because it will only make her feel embarrassed about who she really is as a person. The two novels that featured two different but similar women were both interesting to read. Not only did it show the flight of women at the time it was written, but it also showed how decisions are made by people and how people act in relation to their situation which would decide the future of their lives..