Madame Bovary holds a special place in Minnelli's pantheon of dreamers.  In his version, Minnelli turns Gustave Flaubert’s novel into a period piece both glossy and compelling. Flaubert's archetypal title figure—the unhappy wife who turns to adultery to fulfill her romantic daydreams—could be seen as the prototype for Minnelli’s male characters, who find themselves as enmired in modern American masculinity as Emma Bovary does in provincial 19th century France. The narcissistic illusions of Flaubert's small-town schemer (played by Jennifer Jones) also find a parallel in many of Minnelli's artist figures, especially the filmmakers.  Substitute Hollywood for Emma’s Yonville, and it is possible to imagine Minnelli himself saying (as Flaubert famously did), “Madame Bovary, c’est moi.” In an attempt to forestall censorship and controversy, the film includes its own critique and defense by framing the adaptation of the novel with a re-enactment of Flaubert’s obscenity trial, in an ironic jab at Hollywood’s own stuffy morality and romantic artifice.