Flaubert's Parrot

Geoffrey Braithwaite is the narrator and protagonist of Flaubert’s Parrot. Though he claims to be researching Flaubert’s life, Geoffrey’s story eventually becomes the center of the narrative. The suicide of his wife and his distant relationship with his children draws Geoffrey increasingly closer to Flaubert. Flaubert is no longer just a hobby for Geoffrey, but one of the few meaningful relationships he has left in his life. Thus, the search for an objective truth is not simply the search to learn more about Flaubert. Geoffrey also hopes to learn more about himself in the process, attempting to find the objective truth about his own life and rid himself of guilt following his wife’s suicide.

Geoffrey’s role as the protagonist means that he guides the reader through two distinct worlds. There is the world of his own life and biography, which is slowly drip-fed to the reader. At times this information is even purposefully withheld, such as when Geoffrey admits that he is not ready to tell his wife’s story. There is also the world of Flaubert’s biography, a subject with which Geoffrey’s own life is deeply entangled. He guides the