Finding Love After Loss — Madame Bovary

Old Rouault brings Charles money for the broken leg and a turkey. He tells Charles grief wears away slowly, piece by piece, and invites him back to the farm. Charles goes. Living alone gets easier. People pity him, his doctor practice grows, and he starts visiting the Bertaux whenever he wants. He checks his whiskers in the mirror and feels a little hopeful.

One afternoon he finds Emma sewing alone in a dark kitchen with sunlight coming through the shutters. She offers him a drink and they share small glasses of liquor. She shows him her bedroom, her old school prizes, and the garden bed where she puts flowers on her mother's grave. She talks about town, boredom, and her convent years. Her mood changes fast, from lively to tired. Charles goes home and cannot sleep. The same question keeps buzzing in his head: what if he married again?

Old Rouault needs money and sees Charles blush near Emma. When Charles finally tries to speak at the hedge, the farmer says he already knows the answer. He tells Charles to watch a window shutter for Emma's reply. The shutter opens. Yes. They wait through winter while Emma sews her wedding clothes. She wants a midnight wedding with torches. Her father wants a big village feast instead. The chapter ends at the wedding itself: forty-three guests and sixteen hours at the table, with the party going on for days.