Danger With Serving the Self in Anna Karenina and Madam Bovary

It is a classic human trait to make life more difficult than it needs to be. We live in a me-centered society and those with their focus turned inward usually generate enough drama in the world for the rest of the population. While reality shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent increase the need for money and fame, the need for more has always been around. The old adage that the grass in greener on the other side of the fence is true because it is human to think something is missing and that something will make life better. Two authors that explore this concept are Leo Tolstoy and Gustave Flaubert. In the novel, Anna Karenina, we have a wealthy woman who senses something is wrong with her life and is bent on finding out what that something...
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