Chapter 31 of Madame Bovary is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Madame Bovary is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits. The weather was fine. It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky. The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks. She reached the Place du Parvis.
Chapter 31 of Madame Bovary is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading “The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.”
plural of “habit” — an established custom
From this reading “Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.”
march in a procession
From this reading “It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.”
in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
From this reading “Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.”
according to the clock
-ing form of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading “Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.”
plural of “shine” — the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light
From this reading “It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “The weather was fine.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
rid of obstructions
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She reached the Place du Parvis.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading The weather was fine.
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
plural of “habit” — an established custom
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.
march in a procession
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
according to the clock
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
-ing form of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
a courtyard or portico in front of a building (especially a cathedral)
From this reading She reached the Place du Parvis.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading She reached the Place du Parvis.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading She reached the Place du Parvis.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
plural of “shine” — the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The weather was fine.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading The weather was fine.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.
at the time that
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
a Caucasian
From this reading It was one of those March days, clear and sharp, when the sun shines in a perfectly white sky.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The Rouen folk, in Sunday-clothes, were walking about with happy looks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Four o’clock struck, and she rose to return to Yonville, mechanically obeying the force of old habits.
Chapter 31 of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert holds 166 sentences, grouped into 34 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 31 holds 166 sentences of Madame Bovary, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 166 sentences, grouped into 34 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 31 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6429 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2413 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2413, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 535 minutes of reading across 1286 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Madame Bovary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Madame Bovary to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Madame Bovary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
