“So on the mouth that had lied, moaned with pride and cried with lust” ( 256). Emma Bovary's attempts to realize her unrealistic desires are also an attempt to free herself from the constraints that society imposes on women. Unfortunately, she is not able to break through these barriers due to the lack of power of women at that time. Her actions represent the struggle that women have gone through in an attempt to maintain an image that conforms to society's standards. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayEmma Bovary talks about giving birth to a child so he can live the life she couldn't have. She does not want her son to be hampered by the restrictions of society because it would give her life meaning to have a “free” child (23). Their society does not give women the opportunity to live fulfilling lives because they are limited in what they can accomplish. Having a son with Emma represents the state of women's rights in the 19th century and accurately depicts the struggle that comes with being a woman when one must hope to have a son in order to be free. This is why Emma Bovary lacks financial stability, because women at that time did not have the ability to earn nearly as much money as men. A woman's role was to be played in the home and more like a man's servant rather than his equal. These restrictions led Emma to riddle her marriage with dishonesty and infidelity. Emma continues to struggle to fulfill her unfulfilled desires as Charles no longer seems to interest her after a short period of time. She has no viable excuse for her infidelity because she knew it was wrong due to the restrictions of her marriage and she cannot justify her infidelity. Emma's actions portray a woman selfish enough to violate the laws of marriage for her own needs. “She craved his lips, she longed for his love and cursed herself for letting him go. She could not understand by what weakness or by what virtue she had deprived herself of such happiness” (293). In this situation, I believed that in the back of her mind, she was momentarily thinking about Charles' feelings, which is why she didn't continue with having sex with Leon this time. She understands how unfaithful she is and the image she gives to those she meets. At the same time, she seems unable to contain herself and her desires as she continues to be dishonest and continues her acts of infidelity. This is not a societal issue that is stopping her from taking action because she has placed herself in this scenario by setting such high expectations for her desires. It is impossible for him to enjoy his desires as they are so far out of reach. Emma does what she wants even though she knows that it may have consequences because she always yearns for this happiness that she has not yet found in her life. Emma comes across as a selfish and very needy person due to her thirst not only for her own happiness, but also for financial stability. I can understand that because she is a woman she doesn't have the power to make money the way she wants, but she wants more money than some men have. Her financial instability ultimately contributes to her downfall as she finds herself in debt, unable to repay the money she owes. This shows her carelessness and shows how immorally she is acting given that she is putting Charles in such a difficult situation to deal with. The only sympathy I have for her is that she is incapable of doing anything.