Emil Zola is considered one of the most popular French writers of the XIX century. He is a representative of realism, theorist of the "naturalistic" movement in literature. The last three decades of the XIX century Zola stood in the center of literary life in France. The creator of novels, striking in their realism, was connected by the threads of friendship with many authors of his era and had an impact on the development of European literature.
From the biography of Emil Zola
The future writer and publicist was born in the capital of France on April 2, 1840. Emil was born into a family of Italian and French and received French citizenship. The boy's father was an engineer. Having signed a solid contract for the construction of the canal, Francois Zola moved the family to Aix-en-Provence. Together with partners, Zola Sr. created a company that was to carry out a grandiose project. Since 1847, work began to advance. However, François fell ill with pneumonia and died suddenly.
Emil was identified in a boarding school. Here he met the future French artist Paul Cezanne. Their friendship lasted a quarter century.
After the death of Francois Zola, his wife remained a widow. She lived on a small pension, which was sorely lacking. In 1852, Emil's mother returned to Paris. She had to watch the lawsuit lenders deployed against her late husband’s company. In the course of litigation, the company was declared bankrupt.
Emil moved to his mother in Paris, full of disappointment: from now on, his life is filled with some restrictions that imposed on their existence the wretched financial situation of the family. Zola tried to start a career as a lawyer. But failed in exams.
Literary activity of Emil Zola
Having suffered a defeat in the field of jurisprudence, Zola found a job in a bookstore. Then he worked at Ashet Publishing House. Four years later, the thought ripened in him: to write for himself and to make literary activity a source of subsistence.
Emil takes his first steps in the literary field in journalism. In 1964 he published his first storybook, to which he gave the title "Tales of Ninon." But fame for the beginning writer brought the first novel - "Confession of Claude." In fact, it was Zola's autobiography, which made the author a popular writer.
The matter of his entire creative life, Zola considered the creation of the novel "Rugon-Makkara", which originally envisaged ten volumes. However, in the end, the publication included twenty volumes. The most successful of the books of the cycle were Germinal and Trap. It was about the life of the working class.
The novel "Lady's Happiness" was also a success with readers. It reflected the ideology of bourgeois society, in which commercial relations are rapidly developing. The law of this society is the desire of the client. Seller rights are almost irrelevant. The main characters of the work are simple poor people from a distant province who are looking for a path to a successful life.
The novels of Zola very subtly show the psychology of the petty bourgeoisie. These people are looking for the truth of life. But all their attempts fail.
Zola's style is essentially controversial. However, this feature of his work is an exact reflection of the social position of the petty bourgeoisie, whose representatives become central characters in Zola's works. The vision of the writer is distinguished by capacity and integrity. Descriptions of heroes, characteristics of the subject environment in Zola's novels - everything is given in sentimental soft colors.
The “Rugon-McCara” cycle was conceived as a family saga in which generations change and completely new characters appear. The idea that the author wanted to convey to the reader was that it is impossible to get rid of the customs, habits and heredity rooted in the family.
Here are the most widely read novels by Zola, which brought him world fame:
- “Confession of Claude”;
- "Testament of the dead";
- "Marseille secrets";
- "The Womb of Paris";
- "Germinal";
- Nana
- "The Beast Man."
Interestingly, Zol’s work gained popularity in faraway Russia earlier than in the writer’s homeland. Already his first literary experiments were noted in "Domestic Notes". Translations of a number of Zola’s works came out in an amended form - this was required by Russian censorship. In the 70s of the 19th century, Zola in Russia was actively read by both radical warriors and representatives of the liberal bourgeoisie.
A new stage in Zola’s work was marked by the release of an incomplete series of the Gospels (1899-1902), which included the following literary fragments:
- "Fertility";
- "Work";
- "Justice".
Here Zola, among other things, is trying to create a utopia about the possible systematic reproduction of all mankind.
Without interrupting his literary experiments, Emil Zola was engaged in social and political activities. His most daring publication was the article “I Accuse”, which became the public’s response to the so-called “Dreyfus case”. In those years, many prominent cultural figures came out in defense of Officer Dreyfus, a Jew of nationality who, without any reason, was accused of espionage in favor of Germany.
