Two groundbreaking works, one published the year before, the other that year, were both subjected to trials for obscenity.
The year 1857 was an important one in the French literary landscape. Two groundbreaking works, one published the year before, the other that year, were both subjected to trials for obscenity. The first was Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert, which unblinkingly depicted the adulterous relationships of a bored provincial housewife. Flaubert was eventually acquitted. The second was the volume of poetry called Les Fleurs du Mal ( The Flowers of Evil ), by Charles Baudelaire. Six poems (mostly depicting lesbian desire) were suppressed, and a fine was imposed on the poet. It is this volume of poetry that I would like to discuss today.