The Question of Objectivity in Zola's Thérse Raquin
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Tolstoy and Zola: Trains and Missed Connections
Tolstoy and Zola: Trains and Missed Connections Nina Lee Bond Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2011 © 2011 Nina Lee Bond All rights reserved ABSTRACT Tolstoy and Zola: Trains and Missed Connections Nina Lee Bond ŖTolstoy and Zolaŗ juxtaposes the two writers to examine the evolution of the novel during the late nineteenth century. The juxtaposition is justified by the literary critical debates that were taking place in Russian and French journals during the 1870s and 1880s, concerning Tolstoy and Zola. In both France and Russia, heated arguments arose over the future of realism, and opposing factions held up either Tolstoyřs brand of realism or Zolařs naturalism as more promising. This dissertation uses the differences between Tolstoy and Zola to make more prominent a commonality in their respective novels Anna Karenina (1877) and La Bête humaine (1890): the railways. But rather than interpret the railways in these two novels as a symbol of modernity or as an engine for narrative, I concentrate on one particular aspect of the railway experience, known as motion parallax, which is a depth cue that enables a person to detect depth while in motion. Stationary objects close to a travelling train appear to be moving faster than objects in the distance, such as a mountain range, and moreover they appear to be moving backward. By examining motion parallax in both novels, as well as in some of Tolstoyřs other works, The Kreutzer Sonata (1889) and The Death of Ivan Il'ich (1886), this dissertation attempts to address an intriguing question: what, if any, is the relationship between the advent of trains and the evolution of the novel during the late nineteenth century? Motion parallax triggers in a traveler the sensation of going backward even though one is travelling forward. -
Le Naturalisme, Le Déterminisme Et L‟Étude Du Milieu Dans Germinal D‟Émile Zola Et Sub Terra De Baldomero Lillo
Le Naturalisme, le Déterminisme et l‟Étude du Milieu dans Germinal d‟Émile Zola et Sub Terra de Baldomero Lillo by Marie-Anne Valente A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Approved April 2012 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Frédéric Canovas, Chair Markus Cruse David Foster ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2012 ABSTRACT Émile Zola is considered one of the fathers of 19th century French Naturalist literature. He is famous for his eloquence, sarcasm and is well known for being a provocateur. He wants to follow the principles of science: observation of his characters in their living environment (or milieu). He holds that individuals inherit physical and personality traits from their ancestors, such as atavism, which can be passed from grandfather to father and father to son. This assumption leads to Social Darwinism and impacted Zola like many other European intellectuals who believed in the new social sciences. Religion was going extinct on the old continent and the trend was to apply these theories to literature and humanities. The author also captures the political and social unrest of a struggling working class in his novel Germinal, where starving miners rebel against the bourgeois class that exploits them. Baldomero Lillo is a Chilean naturalist follower of Émile Zola who found inspiration in Germinal to write Sub Terra–short stories depicting the grim life of the coal miners. The author knows them well since he shared his existence with the miners in Lota, in the southern region of Santiago. Unlike Zola, Lillo, who was less educated and less inclined to trust science, opts for a compassionate Naturalism which relates more to his culture and personal inclinations. -
J'accuse Como Fato Literário
J’ACCUSE COMO FATO LITERÁRIO: UMA LEITURA DA CARTA ABERTA DE ÉMILE ZOLA Milene SUZANO1 RESUMO : A partir da metodologia de análise de Leo Spitzer, o presente texto busca colocar em movimento os elementos literários da carta J’accuse, escri- ta por Émile Zola, em janeiro de 1898. A enorme repercussão da carta na época tem sido constantemente associada à influência da imprensa de massa e aos re- cursos retóricos tão habilmente utilizados por Zola. Mas, além dos elementos per- suasivos e do fator imprensa, a personificação das figuras reais e a adjetivação po- larizante dos personagens reais são, em grande medida, frutos de construções literárias. A partir destes dois elementos (adjetivação e personificação), o objetivo do texto é propor uma análise de trechos da carta, dos textos de polêmica de Zola e de seus romances nos quais se manifesta semelhante procedimento. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: estilística, J’accuse, imprensa, Émile Zola, carta aberta. 1 Doutora em Letras pela Universidade de São Paulo – mail : [email protected] nº 12 71 J’ACCUSE COMME UN FAIT LITTÉRAIRE: UNE LECTURE DE LA LETTRE OUVERTE D’ÉMILE ZOLA RÉSUMÉ : Basé sur la métodologie de Leo Spitzer, cet article cherche à mettre en movement la construction littéraire de J’accuse, lettre ouverte d’Émile Zola, publiée en janvier 1898. Son importante réception à l’époque a été souvent asso- ciée à l’influence de la grande presse et aux recours réthoriques bien utilisés par Zola. Mais au delà de ces elements de persuasion, la personnification des person- nages réels et la construction d’un monde dual sont, en grande partie, les consé- quences d’une composition littéraire bien élaborée. -
29 the Influence of Emile Zola's Naturalism on The
29 THE INFLUENCE OF EMILE ZOLA'S NATURALISM ON THE NOVELS OF VICENTE BLASCO IBAREZ THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State Teachers College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Carolee Blackburn, B. A. Denton, Texas August, 1938 9803 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE Pag. Chapter I. ZOLA'S NATURALISM . ,. * . II. THE LITERARY ATMOSPHERE DURING THE FORMA- TIVE PERIOD OF VICENTI BLASCO IBANEZ. 16 III. THE NOVELS OF BLASCO IBANEZ'S FIRST PERIOD OF WRITING. 24 IV. THE NOVELS OF BLASCO IBANEZ'S SECOND PERIOD OF WRITING. 48 V. CONCLUSION. 84 BIBLIOGRAPBY. -.-## *-*- . 92 iii PREFACE It is on the idea that Vicente Blasco Ibgiez's writings were influenced by Emile Zola that this study is based. Because the novels of the Spanish author contain many suggestions of the Zolaesque theory of Naturalism, many literary critics have assumed that he did obtain much of his inspiration from this source; they have even called him the "Spanish Zola." In working up this thesis, I have read and studied the thirteen novels included in Blasco Ib9"ez's first two literary periods. The reason for my excluding his later work is that, after the completion of the second series, his novels cease to be purely Spanish and become international. I shall try to determine how much he imitated Zola's Naturalism, and to show to what extent it is correct to call him the "Spanish Zola." CHAPTER I ZOLA'S NATURALISM It is my purpose in this thesis to show any influence that Emile Zola's Naturalism had on the novels of Blasco IbAiiez. -
Du Conte Au Roman : L'image Du Sang Dans Le Programme Littéraire Et
Du conte au roman : l’image du sang dans le programme littéraire et politique de Zola Halia Koo Memorial University Le sang, dans sa dimension physiologique et métaphorique, occupe une place importante dans l’œuvre d’Émile Zola. Ses descriptions souvent sanglantes des réalités associées à la vie comme à la mort témoignent de l’intérêt quasi médical qu’il porte au corps, à son fonctionnement et à ses manifestations pathologiques. Afin d’examiner l’un des aspects du traitement que subit l’image du sang dans Les Rougon-Macquart, nous commencerons par nous pencher sur un conte de Zola écrit dans sa jeunesse et intitulé « Le Sang » : il s’agit d’un récit HALIA KOO, « L’image du sang dans le programme littéraire et politique de Zola » allégorique abordant des thèmes qui deviendront le sujet des préoccupations littéraires et idéologiques de cet écrivain politiquement engagé. Un récit précurseur : « Le Sang » Zola en est à ses débuts littéraires lorsqu’il publie en 1864 son tout premier livre, Contes à Ninon, un recueil de huit nouvelles, dont un récit intitulé « Le Sang ». Divisé en cinq parties (quatre sections distinctes suivies d’un épilogue), ce conte relate l’histoire de quatre soldats qui, au soir d’une victoire militaire, campent dans le coin désert d’un champ de bataille jonché de cadavres. Endurcis par leur métier, ces hommes ne sont guère émus par l’horreur du paysage qui les entoure : ils achèvent tranquillement leur souper, lorsqu’un cri terrible retentit dans la nuit. Trois soldats nommés Elbert, Clérian et Flem partent chacun à leur tour sonder les ténèbres et découvrir la cause de cette plainte déchirante sortie de l’ombre. -
The Fate of Invention in Late 19 Century French Literature
The Fate of Invention in Late 19th Century French Literature Ana I. Oancea Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2015 ©2014 Ana I. Oancea All rights reserved ABSTRACT The Fate of Invention in Late 19th Century French Literature Ana I. Oancea This dissertation reads the novels of Jules Verne, Albert Robida, Villiers de l’Isle-Adam and Emile Zola, investigating the representation of inventors who specialize in electricity. The figure appears as the intersection of divergent literary movements: Zola, the father of Naturalism and leading proponent of a ‘scientific’ approach to literature, Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, decadent playwright and novelist, Robida, leading caricaturist and amateur historian, and Verne, prominent figure in the emerging genre of anticipation, all develop the inventor character as one who succeeds in realizing key technological aspirations of the 19th century. The authors, however, take a dim view of his activity. Studying the figure of the inventor allows us to gain insight into fundamental 19th century French anxieties over the nation’s progress in science and technology, its national identity, and international standing. The corpus casts science as a pillar of French culture and a modern expression of human creativity, but suggests that social control over how progress is achieved is more important than pure advancement, no matter the price of attaining control. There is a great desire for progress in this period, but as society’s dependence on scientific advancement is becoming apparent, so is its being ignorant of the means through which to achieve it. -
Germinal by Emile Zola 1885 Translated and Introduced By
1 Germinal by Emile Zola 1885 Translated and Introduced by Havelock Ellis Introduction By Havelock Ellis 'GERMINAL' was published in 1885, after occupying Zola during the previous year. In accordance with his usual custom--but to a greater extent than with any other of his books except La Débâcle--he accumulated material beforehand. For six months he travelled about the coal-mining district in northern France and Belgium, especially the Borinage around 2 Mons, note-book in hand. 'He was inquisitive, was that gentleman', miner told Sherard who visited the neighbourhood at a later period and found that the miners in every village knew Germinal. That was a tribute of admiration the book deserved, but it was never one of Zola's most popular novels; it was neither amusing enough nor outrageous enough to attract the multitude. Yet Germinal occupies a place among Zola's works which is constantly becoming more assured, so that to some critics it even begins to seem the only book of his that in the end may survive. In his own time, as we know, the accredited critics of the day could find no condemnation severe enough for Zola. Brunetière attacked him perpetually with a fury that seemed inexhaustible; Schérer could not even bear to hear his name mentioned; Anatole France, though he lived to relent, thought it would have been better if he had never been born. Even at that time, however, there were critics who inclined to view Germinal more favourably. Thus Faguet, who was the recognized academic critic of the end of the last century, while he held that posterity would be unable to understand how Zola could ever have been popular, yet recognized him as in Germinal the heroic representative of democracy, incomparable in his power of describing crowds, and he realized how marvellous is the conclusion of this book. -
A the Determinist Case
A The Determinist Case As indicated in Chapter I, most nineteenth-century determinists understood 'heredity' and 'environment' as including everything that made a man what he was. Conception was generally recognised as the dividing line between the respective dominions of these two groups of factors, although meticulous demarcation experts still tussled over borderland issues such as congenital syphilis and the other hazards that the unsuspecting foetus could encounter during gestation. Nineteenth-century determinism was largely based on the assumption that matter could neither be created nor destroyed: an assumption that was implicit, if not always stated. No phenomenon, be it a person, a thought or an event, could have an autonomous existence that owed nothing to its antecedents and surroundings. Everything was the outcome of the interaction of pre-existing factors, which were themselves the product of earlier factors: each object or occurrence was a link in a mesh of causal chains, stretching back to 'the beginning of things' (in a world still joyously uncomplicated by Einstein). The word 'chance' had no place in this scheme of existence, except to designate something that was unexpected by the participants or observers of a particular situation. Philosophical text-books were rich in illustrative examples of why 'chance' should be banished from academic speech: the many written by Scottish professors showing an understandable predilection for unhappy incidents involving falling roof slates-the influence of environment being nowhere -
Female Sexuality in French Naturalism and Realism, and British New Woman Fiction, 1850 – 1900
Female Sexuality in French Naturalism and Realism, and British New Woman Fiction, 1850 – 1900 Submitted by Ana Rosso to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English In December 2012 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ………………………………………………………….. 2 3 Abstract The Victorian need to compartmentalise and define women’s sexuality in terms of opposing binaries was paralleled by the vague idea that the period’s French and British literatures were at odds with one another. Elucidating the deep connections between, and common concerns shared by, French Naturalist and Realist and British New Woman authors, this thesis shatters the dichotomies that attempted to structure and define women’s sexuality in the mid- to late- nineteenth century. The thesis focusses on novels and short stories by French authors Émile Zola and Guy de Maupassant, and New Woman authors Sarah Grand, Ménie Muriel Dowie and Vernon Lee. In a time during which the feminist movement was gaining momentum, and female sexuality was placed at the heart of a range of discourses, and scrutinised from a number of different angles – not only in literature, but in medicine, psychology, sexology, criminology – the consideration of the female sexual self and her subjectivity brings together the work of authors whose oeuvres have been largely considered as antithetical. -
Mines, Miners and Mining:Programme Notes.Qxd
Germinal France | 1993 | 160 minutes Credits In Brief Director Claude Berri Adapted from the novel by Emile Zola, Germinal depicts a miner’s strike and Screenplay Claude Berri, Arlette Langmann repression by the authorities in mid-19th century France. Gerard Depardieu and Miou Miou star. Music (novel by Émile Zola ) Photography Cast Maheude Miou-Miou Étienne Lantier Renaud Chaval Jean-Roger Milo Toussaint Maheu Gérard Depardieu 'Germinal' a Vision of Hope for Workers Claude Berri's soaring, magnificent film of Emile Zola's "Germinal" (at the Royal) cuts right to the movies' unique, paradoxical power of rendering human misery at its most unrelenting with images of surpassing grandeur and meaning. Pictures don't get much bleaker than this 158-minute epic saga of the grinding existence of 19th-Century French coal miners--but they don't get much more beautiful either. Berri and his formidable yet understated cinematographer, Yves Angelo, aided by Jean-Louis Roque's subtle yet stirring score, bring a unifying, majestic lyricism to their contrasting views of the few ultra-rich and the many desperately poor. "Germinal," France's official entry in the Oscars, glows with the humanism and passion for authenticity that were Zola's hallmarks, and is a worthy successor to Berri's similarly powerful "Jean de Florette" and "Manon of the Springs." The story is set roughly a century ago, but it's actually unfolding, with varying degrees of severity, around the world right now. As a leader in the international Naturalist literary movement, Zola believed that the destinies of most people, especially the poor, were dictated--and usually harshly--by environment. -
Impressions on the Evolution of Naturalism: Interiority, Exteriority, and the International/Interdisciplinary Nature of Naturalism
humanities Article Impressions on the Evolution of Naturalism: Interiority, Exteriority, and the International/Interdisciplinary Nature of Naturalism Cameron Dodworth Department of English, Methodist University, Fayetteville, NC 28311, USA; [email protected] Received: 29 May 2019; Accepted: 16 July 2019; Published: 23 July 2019 Abstract: Naturalism, as a movement and genre, was heavily influenced by the work of Émile Zola, particularly by his essay, Le roman expérimental (1880). However, despite Zola’s strong influence, Naturalism was also significantly influenced by the ideas of others that go beyond and even predate those of Zola. As a result, Naturalism is generally accepted as having originated in France in the late 19th century, and having extended into the early 20th century, however it soon became an international as well as an interdisciplinary movement and genre. More specific examples of this international and interdisciplinary network of Naturalism can be seen in the writing of Zola, Joris-Karl Husymans, and Oscar Wilde, as well as the painting of Cécile Douard, Vincent van Gogh, Gustave Caillebotte, and Claude Monet. Furthermore, these examples reveal that Naturalism evolved into a more interior branch, as well as a more exterior branch, and they also reveal some strong evolutionary links between not only Naturalism and Impressionism, but also between Naturalism and Decadence/Aestheticism. These latter links have seen little discussion in relation to Naturalism, particularly on the basis of the roles that interiority and exteriority play in the international and interdisciplinary expressions of Naturalism. Keywords: realism; naturalism; impressionism; Émile Zola; fin-de-siècle In his 2007 article, “Sailing Under False Colors: Naturalism Revisted” Pieter Borghart accurately observes that “apart from the obvious etymological origin of the term Naturalism denoting a profound interest in the study of nature, its precise meaning in literary studies is still under debate” (Borghart 2007). -
Definitions of Realism and Naturalism
Definitions of Realism and Naturalism From Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 5th Edition. San Francisco: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1988. 152-154. Realism and Naturalism. Realism is used by literary critics in two chief ways: (1) to identify a literary movement of the nineteenth century, especially in prose fiction (beginning with Balzac in France, George Eliot in England, and William Dean Howells in America); and (2) to designate a recurrent mode, in various eras, of representing human life and experience in literature, which was especially exemplified by the writers of this historical movement. Realistic fiction is often opposed to romantic fiction: the romance is said to present life as we would have it be, more picturesque, more adventurous, more heroic than the actual; realism, to present an accurate imitation of life as it is. This distinction is not invalid, but it is inadequate. Casanova, T. E. Lawrence, and Winston Churchill were people in real life, but their histories, as related by themselves or others, demonstrate that truth can be stranger than literary realism. The typical realist sets out to write a fiction which will give the illusion that it reflects life and the social world as it seems to the common reader. To achieve this effect the author prefers as protagonist an ordinary citizen of Middletown, living on Main Street, perhaps, and engaged in the real estate business. The realist, in other words, is deliberately selective in material and prefers the average, the commonplace, and the everyday over the rarer aspects of the social p. 153 scene.