"Clever at all games of cards, a good
hunter, and writing a fine hand..." (Flaubert 53)
Another dignified citizen of Yonville-l’Abbaye is our tax collector,
Monsieur Binet. This often silent resident is integral to the composition
of Yonville (Tanner 256). A pillar of society, like myself, the Legion
of Honor winner, Binet is an “upright citizen” (259). As
a hobby, Binet loves to make napkin rings on his lathe (255). He has
an exacting presence over the town, as the swirling sounds of his lathe pervade
the quiet ambience of Yonville (256). Like the birds in the spring
sky, Monsieur Binet’s lathe is a welcoming sound to us all. Moreover,
Binet loves “exactitude”—punctuality, exactness, correctness,
accuracy (254). No wonder he is a tax collector! Binet used to
be a military man; he made our town proud (yet, not as proud as when I received
the Cross of the Legion of Honor) when he was the captain of the legions
at the Agricultural Show (258). “An able card player, a skilled
hunter, and an excellent penman,” Binet is a bald, bearded man with
“small eyes and an aquiline nose” (Flaubert 90). Yet, he
lacks imagination, a sense of humor, and social manners (Tanner 273).
And, although he was recommended for the Legion of Honor, he never received
this honor—I did!
Upon reading Flaubert’s
Madame Bovary, my opinion of Binet only rose. I say “good for
him!” when he rejected the pleadings of the diabolical
and promiscuous
Emma Bovary. Job well done; justice was served!
People of Yonville
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