From Gustave Flaubert’s 1857 novel, modern Madame Bovary syndrome refers to a
woman plagued with tendency to assume
massive consumer debt in order to support a
chic or extravagant life-style.
My
rejection of the “ownership society” clashed with my former
wife’s Madame Bovary Syndrome. Her profligate consumerism and aspirations for the “
pretty life” lead to mountains of credit card debt.