“J’accuse!” (I accuse!) is a famous open letter by Émile Zola to the French president on the scandal known as the Dreyfus Affair. Published on the front page of L’Aurore (The Dawn) in 1898, it has been called the greatest newspaper article of all time. It accused military officers of covering up the evidence that forged documents had been used to wrongly convict Alfred Dreyfus of espionage. Dreyfus, an obscure army officer from a wealthy Jewish family, had been falsely accused of passing French military secrets to the Germans in 1894. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island. Zola went on to say that “by appealing to odious antisemitism, [the accusation] will destroy a freedom-loving France". Zola was a leading light of France and his letter formed a major turning point in the Dreyfus Affair and the conviction was eventually reversed. Zola is buried in the Panthéon, along with other heroes of France.
Émile Zola was not just a fighter for truth and justice. He was also a prolific French writer who lived from 1840 to 1902. He was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize.Today he is remembered as one of the most important writers of his time. His work had a profound influence on French literature and on the development of naturalism as a literary movement which sought to accurately depict the world as it truly was, rather than idealizing it or romanticizing it.
Zola’s novels are characterized by a gritty realism that seeks to expose the harsh realities of life for the working class and the poor. He believed that people were largely shaped by their social and economic environment and that their choices are heavily limited by these factors. His novels also expose the corruption and inequalities of French society. Zola also believed that an understanding of human behavior required an understanding of psychology, and so his novels often explore the inner thoughts and emotions of his characters.
Zola is best known for his 20 volume series of novels, Les Rougon-Macquart, which is the history of three branches of a family during the reign of Napoleon III. These novels can be read out of order and three of them will be included in this SDG. These three works were chosen both for their popularity and for the interest of their subject matter.
Germinal, perhaps the best known of Zola’s novels, explores the lives of coal miners. The protagonist leads a strike against the oppressive working conditions in the mines. The novel examines the harsh realities of industrialization and the struggle for workers’ rights.
The Drinking Den (aka The Drunkard and by its French title, L’Assommoir) is a realistic portrayal of the lives of working-class people in Paris. It follows the story of a laundress who struggles with poverty and alcoholism. The novel examines the social and economic forces that contribute to her downfall.
The Masterpiece (aka His Masterpiece and by its French title L’Oeuvre) explores the milieu of the art world of the Impressionists. Zola was a childhood friend of the artist Paul Cézanne. Many of the characteristics ascribed to the protagonist are a composite taken from the lives of several Impressionist painters including Monet, Manet, and Cézanne.
Zola’s contributions to naturalism had a profound impact on literature and influenced writers such as John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser, and Jack London. His political engagement and willingness to speak out against injustice continue to inspire readers and writers around the world.
If no chapters are indicated, the entire "part" is to be read.Weekly readings average 100 pages.
Germinal
1. Introduction to Zola including his life, his writing style, and the Dreyfus Affair
2. Introductory Material and Part I
3. Part II and Part III, Ch. 1-4
4. Part III, Ch. 5 and Part IV
5. Part V and Part VI, Ch. 1-3
6. Part VI, Ch. 4-5 and Part VII
The Drinking Den
7. Introductory Material and Ch. 1-3
8. Ch. 4-6
9. Ch. 7-9
10. Ch. 10-13
The Masterpiece
11. Introductory Material and Ch. 1-3
12. Ch. 4-6
13. Ch. 7-9
14. Ch.10-12
Core Books
Zola, Émile. Germinal. Penguin Classics. 2004.
Zola, Émile. The Drinking Den. Penguin Classics. 2000.
Zola, Émile. The Masterpiece. Oxford World's Classics. 2008.
Supplemental Bibliography
Hemmings, F.W.J. The Life and Times of Émile Zola. Bloomsbury Reader. 2013.
Schom, Alan. Émile Zola: A Bourgeois Rebel. Sharpe Books. 2018.