Madame Bovary became notorious and a bestseller after Gustave Flaubert was acquitted from charges of obscenity in 1856. It details the many adulterous affairs and extravagances of Emma Bovary, a provincial doctor's wife. Her behaviour explores the banality and emptiness of rural life in provincial northern France, near the town of Rouen in Normandy. Flaubert considered himself a perfectionist, which is mirrored in the immaculate style of his writing. The story focuses on adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. Though the basic plot is rather simple, even archetypal, the novel's true art lies in its details and hidden patterns. Madame Bovary is still considered one of the greatest literary texts of all time.