According to Emma, ​​​​Berthe is a figure who prevents her from acquiring true love and contentment. She associates his presence with the banality of domestic life that her marriage to Charles produces. As a result, he neither shows affection towards Berthe nor develops a permanent love bond with her. This manifests itself in the way Emma treats Berthe. For example, when Berthe attempts to hug Emma, ​​she exclaims, “Leave me alone” (100)! As such, Berthe falls to the floor and begins to bleed. It is clear that Emma does not exhibit the traditional traits of a maternal figure. According to Simone de Beauvoir, the concept of innate maternal instinct is facetious. Specifically, de Beauvoir argues that “no maternal instinct, innate and mysterious,” exists within a woman. Maternal instinct is a social construct that propagates the belief that all women are destined to be mothers. Ultimately, if Emma had not grown up in a patriarchal society that promoted this belief, Berthe might not have