Flaubert's Parrot

Two relationships come to define the novel. Compare the relationship between Geoffrey and Flaubert to the relationship between Geoffrey and Ellen.

Parrots appear throughout the book in many different guises, all of them mentioned by Geoffrey. How does the symbolic meaning of the parrots change and evolve over the course of the book?

As he points out on a number of occasions, Geoffrey is a medical doctor. How does this choice of profession influence his relationship with Flaubert?

Though Geoffrey rarely interacts with women in a romantic fashion, he is a studious documentarian of love. How does romantic love affect his life, whether experienced vicariously through Flaubert or first-hand?

Flaubert’s relationships with women provide some of the keenest insight into his character. How do women’s perspectives of Flaubert differ from their male counterparts?

Geoffrey is a big fan of literature. His favorite writer, Gustave Flaubert, has become an obsession. How does literature appear in the text and what role does it play in revealing Geoffrey’s character?

Flaubert’s Parrot is a novel about competing biographies. Would you consider the book itself to be a biography? Why or why not?

As an Englishman, Geoffrey is very aware of the difference between Flaubert’s country and his own. How do Anglo-French cultural differences manifest in the text?