Flaubert's Parrot

“Nothing much else to do with Flaubert has ever lasted.”

The impossibility of the objective truth is a theme returned to again and again. While Geoffrey might be referring to the specific objects in Flaubert’s life, the sentiment of the above quote can apply equally to the writer’s biography. As Geoffrey demonstrates throughout the text, there are many different versions of Flaubert’s life, each of which highlights certain elements of his personality. Geoffrey’s pursuit for Flaubert’s true nature reveals that the very idea of biography is hollow. No truth about the writer’s life ever lasts; whether it is the truth about Flaubert’s romantic life as revealed by the correspondence that Ed burns or the discovery of the trove of stuffed parrots, none of the essential truths which are quoted by Geoffrey or other biographers lasts until the end of the book. No truth ever lasts when examined with great scrutiny.

“Few writers believed more in the objectivity of the written text, in the insignificance of the writer’s personality; yet still we disobediently pursue.”

Geoffrey states that this so-called “objectivity of the written text” (13) is a myth—a myth ruthlessly exposed throughout the book. This lack of objectivity is not just true of Flaubert’s own works, but also in the way real life permeates Geoffrey’s search for truth about the stuffed parrot. It does not matter which parrot is the authentic one found in Flaubert’s apartment.