GPX File. LOC File. More than half of Zola's novels were part of this set of 20 collectively known as Les Rougon-Macquart. Set in France's Second Empire, the series traces the "environmental" influences of violence, alcohol, and prostitution which became more prevalent during the second wave of the industrial revolution.
The series examines two branches of a single family: the respectable that is, legitimate Rougons and the disreputable illegitimate Macquarts, for five generations.
Zola declared that Dreyfus' conviction and removal to an island prison came after a false accusation of espionage and was a miscarriage of justice. The case, known as the Dreyfus affair, divided France deeply between the reactionary army and church, and the more liberal commercial society.
The ramifications continued for many years; on the th anniversary of Zola's article, France's Roman Catholic daily paper, La Croix, apologized for its antisemitic editorials during the Dreyfus Affair.
As Zola was a leading French thinker, his letter formed a major turning-point in the affair. Years later, in , a letter to a French newspaper claimed that Zola had been murdered by an anti-Dreyfusard stove-fitting contractor while the roof of the house next door was being mended.
Allegedly, he confessed what he had done on his death bed in Zola was not left in the Montmartre Cemetery indefinitely. There was much pushing and shoving as angry nationalists tried to stop the hearse.
They were driven back by police and soldiers, and the coffin was taken in and placed on a towering catafalque. The next morning the President attended the ceremony of reburial. Alexandrine, Jeanne and the two children were there. So was the inevitable Dreyfus, at whom two shots were fired from a pistol by a man close to the catafalque, a journalist named Louis Gregori. He was overpowered by police. Dreyfus suffered a slight wound in the arm. Months Past.
The French writer died on 29 September France Literature. Related Articles. Zola was also interested in the turn towards pleasure that society was taking at the time. Drinking, staying out all night, dancing, and using drugs began to become more and more normal, and the Rougon-Macquart family was not immune to these vices.
Zola examines the effects that these amusements had on the progression of their lives. Many famous authors of the 19th century lived on almost nothing, as their works were not recognized when they were alive. Zola was definitely lucky in this sense, as he made a considerable amount of money while he was alive. The book was a commentary on alcoholism and poor living conditions plaguing the lower class at the time. While Zola did not necessarily intend for the novel to raise awareness, it drew attention to the conditions of a huge population in Paris that was not really being talked about.
Zola lived in this sanctuary for most of the year, and he was known to invite authors like Guy de Maupassant and Joris-Karl Huysmans to convene to discuss literature. All of the novels also include conversations the authors had in regards to the Franco-Prussian war that occurred in The group wanted to discuss the war in a more realistic way, as it was often written about from a heroic standpoint which the authors disagreed with.
The Dreyfus affair was arguably one of the most scandalous judicial cases of the 19th century in France. In , Captain Alfred Dreyfus was wrongly accused of giving top-secret information to German enemy troops. Severe antisemitism at the time caused the French government to wrongly accuse Dreyfus of giving up the information, even though evidence quickly emerged that Dreyfus was not involved.
Zola was appalled that although it had become common knowledge that Dreyfus was innocent, that nothing was being done to free him. I accuse…! The letter divided France into two sides — those who agreed with the government, and those who agreed with Zola. Zola was quickly charged with libel defamation and was brought to trial. He was convicted and removed from the Legion of Honor, and rather than going to jail left for England. He stayed in England for 1 year before returning to France as the current government was falling.
It is for that reason that there is a lot of questions surrounding the circumstances of his death. Zola was found dead in his Parisian apartment in , having died of carbon monoxide poisoning. His death was originally said to be accidental, the cause being that his chimney did not have a proper ventilation system. Due to the many people that disagreed with his stance in the Dreyfus affair, some believe that Zola was the victim of an assassination plot, but it was never been proven either way.
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