# Monsieur Homais — Madame Bovary character guide > Monsieur Homais in Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Homais **First appearance:** 0012-part-ii-ii ## Snapshot Yonville's progressive pharmacist, a self-appointed enlightener who lectures on science and hygiene while gossiping about everyone in town. ## Who they are Homais is the neighbor who drops in daily, writes florid paragraphs for the local paper, and treats every event as an occasion for his opinions on progress and virtue. He bustles through the market bowing to Madame Bovary, and later whispers with the landlady about Lheureux's bills and the ruin they are bringing. Pompous and meddlesome, he embodies the smug provincial modernity against which Emma's romanticism chafes. ## Relationships ### [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary) _social_ Homais is the pompous town pharmacist whose progressive chatter bores Emma, though they maintain a neighborly acquaintance. ### [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary) _friendship_ Homais acts as Charles's primary social companion and self-appointed mentor, though his friendship is largely self-serving. ### [Léon Dupuis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/leon_dupuis) _social_ They are acquaintances in Yonville; Homais enjoys having an educated young man to converse with. ### [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary) _social_ Homais is the pompous town pharmacist whose progressive chatter bores Emma, though they maintain a neighborly acquaintance. ### [Léon Dupuis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/leon_dupuis) _social_ They are acquaintances in Yonville; Homais enjoys having an educated young man to converse with. ### [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary) _friendship_ Homais acts as Charles's primary social companion and self-appointed mentor, though his friendship is largely self-serving. ### [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary) _friendship_ Homais acts as Charles's primary social companion and self-appointed mentor, though his friendship is largely self-serving. ### [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary) _social_ Homais is the pompous town pharmacist whose progressive chatter bores Emma, though they maintain a neighborly acquaintance. ## In the story ### [The Ball at Vaubyessard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-i-viii) Mentioned indirectly as 'the doctor' who is astonished no liqueurs are served at luncheon. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-i-ix) Mentioned indirectly as the hairdresser who laments his wasted calling and dreams of a shop in Rouen, reflecting the chapter's theme of provincial stagnation. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-i) The town chemist, introduced in his shop and at the inn. He expresses Voltairean, anti-clerical views to Madame Lefrançois and critiques her billiard table, showcasing his pretension and modernizing zeal. ### [Arrival in Yonville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-ii) Dominates dinner conversation with long, pseudo-scientific monologues about local climate and hygiene; boasts of his library and his role as a newspaper correspondent. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-iii) Offers naming advice (Madeleine), reveals his philosophical and artistic tastes in discussing tragedy. He ingratiates himself with Charles due to a fear of being reported for practicing medicine without a diploma. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-iv) Dominates dinner conversations with scientific pretension and gossip. Hosts soirées and observes, with suspicion, the interactions between Léon and Emma. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-v) Leads the group outing, pontificating on the yarn-mill's construction with scientific pretension. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-vi) Provides comic, pretentious commentary on Parisian student life and the dangers of the city; sees Léon off with melodramatic tears. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-vii) Arrives after Justin faints and delivers a long, pompous scolding to his apprentice, highlighting his self-importance and the bustle of his shop on market day. ### [The Fears and Follies of Adultery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-x) Holds court in his shop, dispensing chemicals and pontificating. His domestic scene with his family contrasts with the hidden tensions in the room. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-xi) The instigator of the operation, driven by a desire for progress and local celebrity. He is humiliated by Canivet but prioritizes his business interests. ### [The Letter and the Abyss](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-xiii) Rushes to the scene after Emma faints, delivering a pretentious monologue on syncope, aromatics, and nervous disorders. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-xiv) Approves of Emma's declining church attendance, engages in a lengthy debate defending theatre and literature against Bournisien's criticisms. ### [The Opera](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-xv) Mentioned in conversation as part of the mundane Yonville life that Emma is momentarily escaping. ### [The Death of Charles's Father & Financial Maneuvers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-ii) Attempts to deliver news of the death with rhetorical flourish but fails, then pontificates about a controversial book, showcasing his pretentiousness. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-iv) Lectures Charles on the importance of cultivating talent, using Rousseauian ideas to pressure him into allowing Emma's 'lessons.' ### [The Desperate Search](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-vii) Encountered in Rouen; he helps Emma into the Hirondelle and delivers a pompous tirade against the blind beggar, embodying scientific pretension. ### [The Final Desperation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-viii) Present during Emma's death throes; offers medical commentary and insists on an analysis, displaying his scientific pretension. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-ix) Keeps vigil; brings chemicals to ward off 'miasmata'; engages in a pedantic argument with Bournisien about religion and science; attempts to manage Charles and the funeral arrangements. ### [The Funeral](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-x) Orchestrates the funeral details, offers unsolicited philosophical advice, and makes critical, hypocritical observations about the attendees' propriety. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-xi) His ambition for the Legion of Honour consumes him. He orchestrates the blind man's imprisonment, writes pompous editorials, and works on a book. He helps Charles plan Emma's tomb, insisting on a weeping willow. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_homais - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters