We are introduced to Emma (Jennifer Jones) when she is twenty years old. She lives with her father (Eduard Franz) on a small farm in the country. She is a lonely woman, and books are her only real companions. She fantasizes about love, and convinces herself that she will one day fall madly in love and have a perfect life. One day, Emma's father injures his leg. When the doctor, Charles Bovary (Van Heflin) comes, Emma falls in love with him instantly. Soon enough, Emma and Charles are married. The couple moves into a small house in the town of Yonville in Normandy. Emma is disappointed, but vows to make the house into her dream home. She insists upon decorating the house lavishly, and although Charles makes only a modest salary, he provides Emma with her every wish. Although her home is just how Emma always dreamed, she is still disappointed at her lack of social status, and feels trapped by her less-than-perfect marriage. She insists to Charles that she wants to have a baby boy, so that he will grow up and be able to live his life the way he wants and not be confined to the rank of the husband as women were. Emma is met with even more disappointment when she later gives birth to a girl, Berthe. Emma develops an intolerance toward Berthe and is uninvolved in raising her, depending heavily upon the nanny, Félicité (Ellen Corby). Unhappy with her life, Emma embarks on an affair with Leon Dupuis (Alf Kjellin).