Abstract: A lot of meticulous clothing-writing is used in Madame Bovary, which embodies Flaubert's cognition and reflection on the fashion of French society in the early 19th century, and it is also a new perspective to analyze the fate of Emma. As a literary representation of fashion, clothing-writing is the key to interpreting the modernity connotation of the novel. The transformation of French society in the period of modernization is manifested in the change of people's aesthetic concepts and consumption behavior. Emma is in the process of modernization that has never happened before, so her tragic fate has the special reason of the times. Flaubert, in Madame Bovary, vividly shows the modernity connotation driven by material fashion behind the character's fate, and presents the dimension of fashion showing people's internal desire of "unification" and "differentiation".

Key words: modernity, Emma, tragic fate, clothing-writing, fashion