Lewis 1 Charmaine Lewis English 212 Dr.

Rebecca Jordan January 10, 2012 A Simple Heart : Making The Best Of Things Despite Circumstances A person goes through hard times within a lifespan. Some things that are hard to conquer without love ones to be by your side. Gustave shows how we all can overcome anything with the faith and trust within ones own intellectual. He also betrays how a person finds a way of letting love help them through anything that comes their way. It is no doubt a combination of these two apparently different types: we can see a social purpose in the picture of the poor oppressed woman, her devotion to a selfish mistress, her frustration, resignation, and final dying happiness.( Beirhost 519) Felicite in A Simple Heart demonstrates the triumph of love over lifes tragedies. Felicite has always had a troubled pass. At an early age she lost her mother and father. He siblings went separate ways, leaving her to put into a foster home. She was taken in by a farmer that would physically beat her for believing that she was stealing things from him. He would make her sleep in a barn. She also had trouble with keeping a family that truly loved her for her. She struggled with people looking at her and staring at her face. Because she was badly beaten throughout her childhood. She finally found someone that really loved her by the name of Thomas. But in the end he betrayed her love for someone elses hand in marriage. She was hurt but kept on moving by keeping her spirit up and showing how she can love herself. Felicite ends up moving away from the village, where she was staying to find a new place to stay and start fresh. She ends up getting a job as a cook/ caretaker with Mdm. Aubain. Mdm.

Lewis 2 Aubain was evil and cruel to Felicite. She did not really want to hire her, but she needed the help with her kids, Virginie and Paul. She shows in this part of her life, the love she has inside, by being heroic to the children and Mdm. Aubain. The bull had driven Felicite to bay against a rail-fence; his slaver was streaming into her face ; another second, and he would have gored her. She had just time to slip between two of the rails, and the big animal stopped short in amazement.(Biehorst pages 524-525). This quote shows how much she cared for Mdm. Aubain and her children by saving them from the bull. This also shows how she let her love for them help be brave and protect them. Virginie falls ill and Victor, Felicites nephew, falls ill with a plague. Virginie went to a highly religion school away from Mdm. Aubain. Victor was a sailor that had traveled to Havana. He would give her gifts every time he would come back from a foreign place. With the both of them going off to places far away from home, it open up another side of Felicites love that is inside her. Virginie becomes ill while she is away at school. Victor fall ill in Havana from poor doctoring and of a fever. He does not make it. With this news, Felicite becomes hurt broken about it, but does not attend his funeral because her love and attention is now focused on Virginie and her wellbeing. She also was concern about Mdm. Aubain and how she will be able to handle her daughter being sick. Virginie passes away. Mdm. Aubain morns the loss of her darling daughter. Later on, Felicite and Mdm Aubain goes through Virginies clothes. Felicite shows love and compassion toward Mdm. Aubain by showing her love and sympathy of her lost. This goes to show how she really shows her love and pain with Mdm. Aubain. A few months/years later, Mdm. Aubain becomes ill. Felicite is still helping Mdm. Aubain around the house. They grew a tighter bond then they had before. Not long before Mdm. Aubain becomes ill in bed, a parrot was giving to her. She did not want it, so she gave it to

Lewis 3 Felicite. Felicite took care of the parrot and named it LouLou. She fed him, let him out to play and everything. One day she comes and see that he is dead in his cage. She told Mdm. Aubain about it. Felicite then travels to a little village to get him stuff so she can always have him with her. On her way, the mail carrier was coming around they curve. Not able to hear him, she almost made him lose control of the horse. He whips her in the face cutting her. She keep her dignity and strength and keep on walking toward the village where she can get LouLou stuffed. Felicite makes it back home to see that Mdm. Aubain is still in bed and was not getting any better. Felicite sits by her side until she finally passed away. Felicite ends up staying in the house even though it was falling apart. She was happy and felt good. LouLou was her only property. Toward the end of her death she took a deep breath and smell the air as the carnival was passing. This part of the story shows how her love for Mdm. Aubain and how she kept strong until it was her time to go. To me, this story really showed exactly how someone can conquer anything in front of them through faith and the power of love. Felicite had a strong wheel power to do the things that she had done. She let love help her through her hard times and situation where she could not find a solution for. She let her faith guide her through every nick and turn that she had in her life.

Lewis 4 Work Cited Flaubert, Gustave. A Simple Heart. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Volume 2. Ed John Bierhorst. New York: Norton, 2009. 518-542