Read Ebook: A Zola Dictionary; the Characters of the Rougon-Macquart Novels of Emile Zola; by Patterson J G

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La Bete Humaine.

A novel dealing with railway life in France towards the close of the Second Empire. The hero is Jacques Lantier, the second son of Gervaise Macquart and August Lantier . When his parents went to Paris with his two brothers, he remained at Plassans with his godmother, "Aunt Phasie," who afterwards married Misard, a railway signalman, by whom she was slowly poisoned to secure a small legacy which she had concealed. After Jacques had passed through the School of Arts and Crafts at Plassans he became a railway engine-driver, and entered the service of the Western Railway Company, regularly driving the express train between Paris and Havre. He was a steady man and a competent engineer, but from his early youth he had been affected by a curious form of insanity, the desire to murder any woman of whom he became fond. "It seemed like a sudden outburst of blind rage, an ever-recurring thirst to avenge some very ancient offences, the exact recollection of which escaped him." There was also in the employment of the railway company, as assistant station-master at Havre, a compatriot of Lantier named Roubaud, who had married Severine Aubry, the godchild of President Grandmorin, a director of the company. A chance word of Severine's roused the suspicions of Roubaud regarding her former relations with the President, and, driven to frenzy by jealousy, he compelled her to become his accomplice in the murder of Grandmorin in an express train between Paris and Havre.

Germinal.

A novel dealing with the labour question in its special relation to coal-mining. The scene of the book is laid in the north of France at a time preceding and during a great strike; the hero is Etienne Lantier . In a moment of passion Lantier had struck one of his superiors, and having been dismissed from his employment as an engineer, found it difficult to get work, till, after drifting from place to place, he eventually became a coal-miner. The hardships of the life and its miserable remuneration impressed him deeply, and he began to indoctrinate his comrades with a spirit of revolt. His influence grew, and he became the acknowledged leader of the strike which followed. The result was disastrous. After weeks of misery from cold and hunger the infuriated workmen attempted to destroy one of the pits, and were fired upon by soldiers sent to guard it. Many were killed, and the survivors, with their spirits crushed, returned to work. But worse was yet to come. Souvarine, an Anarchist, disgusted with the ineffectual struggle, brought about an inundation of the pit, whereby many of his comrades were entombed. Among them was Lantier, who was, however, eventually rescued.

As a study of the ever-lasting struggle between capital and labour the work has no rival in fiction; the miseries and degradation of the mining class, their tardy revolt against their employers, and their sufferings from hunger during its futile course, these are the theme, and the result is a picture of gloom, horrible and without relief.

Nana.

La Terre.

This is a novel which treats of the conditions of agricultural life in France before the war with Prussia, and the subsequent downfall of the Second Empire. It is, in some respects, the most powerful of all Zola's novels, but in dealing with the subject he unfortunately thought it necessary to introduce incidents and expressions which, from their nature, must always render it impossible to submit the book in its entirety to the general English reader.

Its connection with the Rougon-Macquart series is somewhat slight. Jean Macquart, son of Antoine Macquart and brother of Gervaise , having served his time in the Army, came to the plain of La Beauce, and became an agricultural labourer on the farm of La Borderie, which belonged to Alexandre Hourdequin. He fell in love with Lise Mouche, who, however, married Buteau, and Macquart subsequently married her sister Francoise. Constant quarrels now arose between the two sisters as to the division of their father's property, and in the end Francoise was murdered by her sister. Macquart, tired of the struggle, decided to rejoin the army, which he did immediately after the outbreak of war.

The interest of the book is, however, largely connected with the history of the Fouans, a family of peasants, the senior member of which, having grown old, divided his land among his three children. The intense and brutish rapacity of these peasants, their utter lack of any feeling of morality or duty, their perfect selfishness, not stopping short of parricide, form a picture of horror unequalled in fiction. It is only to be regretted that the author, in leaving nothing to the imagination, has produced a work suitable only for the serious student of sociology.

La Debacle.

Le Docteur Pascal.

In this, the concluding novel of the Rougon-Macquart series, Zola gathers together the threads of the preceding volumes and makes a vigorous defence of his theories of heredity. The story in the book is both simple and sad. Doctor Pascal Rougon, a medical man at Plassans and a distinguished student of heredity, had brought up his niece Clotilde from childhood. Years afterwards they found that they passionately loved one another, but they did not marry, as Pascal, who had lost money, thought that by doing so she would sacrifice her interests. With fine self-sacrifice Pascal persuaded Clotilde to go to Paris to live with her brother who was wealthy and wanted her to nurse him. Soon after her departure Pascal showed symptoms of a fatal affection of the heart, and after some weeks of great suffering telegraphed for Clotilde to come back. One hour before her return he died. His mother, Madame Felicite Rougon, who feared that his researches on heredity might bring scandal on the family, burned all his papers, and in one hour destroyed the work of a lifetime. A child was born to Clotilde seven months after the death of Doctor Pascal; a child which he intensely desired, in the hope that through it might come the regeneration and rejuvenation of his race.

THE ZOLA DICTIONARY

ADELE, the girl for whom Auguste Lantier deserted Gervaise Macquart. They lived together for seven years, a life of constant bickerings and quarrels, accompanied, not infrequently, by blows, until the connection was ended by Adele running away. Her sister was Virginie, with whom Gervaise fought in the public washing-house on the day of her desertion by Lantier. L'Assommoir.

ADELE, maid-servant to the Josserands, and one of Hector Trublot's friends. Pot-Bouille.

ADELE, an assistant in the shop of Quenu, the pork-butcher. It was she who took charge of the shop on the sudden death of her master. And subsequently sent Pauline Quenu to Madame Chanteau. La Joie de Vivre.

ADOLPHE, an artillery driver in the same battery as Honore Fouchard. In accordance with a rule of the French artillery, under which a driver and a gunner are coupled, he messed with Louis, the gunner, whom, however, he was inclined to treat as a servant. At the battle of Sedan, before the Calvary d'Illy, where the French were almost exterminated by the Prussian artillery, Adolphe fell, killed by a wound in the chest; in a last convulsion he clasped in his arms Louis, who had fallen at the same moment, killed by the same shot. La Debacle.

ALBINE, niece of Jeanbernat, keeper of the Paradou, a neglected demesne in Provence. Her father had ruined himself and committed suicide when she was nine years old, and she then came to live with her uncle. She grew up in that vast garden of flowers, herself its fairest, almost in ignorance of the world outside, and when Abbe Mouret came to the Paradou forgetful of his past, she loved him unconsciously from the first. As she nursed him towards health, and his mind began again to grow from that fresh starting-point to which it had been thrown back, there developed an idyll as beautiful and as innocent as that which had its place in another and an earlier garden. The awakening of Abbe Mouret to the recollections of his priesthood ended the romance, for the call of his training was too strong for his love. One effort Albine made to bring him back, and it was successful in so much that one day he returned to the Paradou. Again there followed the struggle between the flesh and the Church, and again the Church prevailed. Broken-hearted, Albine passed for the last time through her loved garden, gathering as she went vast heaps of flowers. More and more she gathered, till her room was nearly full; then, closing the door and windows, she lay down amongst the flowers, and allowed herself to be suffocated by their overpowering perfume. La Faute de l'Abbe Mouret.

ALEXANDRE, a porter at the Halles Centrales, where he became a friend of Claude Lantier. He was involved along with Florent and Gavard in the revolutionary meetings at Lebigre's wine-shop, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Le Ventre de Paris.

ALEXANDRE, one of the warders at the asylum of Les Tulettes. He was a friend of Antoine Macquart, and at his request allowed Francois Mouret to escape from the asylum, with disastrous results to Abbe Faujas and his relations. La Conquete de Plassans.

AMADIEU, a speculator on the Paris Bourse who made a fortune by a rash purchase of mining stock. He went into the affair without calculation or knowledge, but his success made him revered by the entire Bourse. He placed no more orders, however, but seemed to be satisfied with his single victory. L'Argent.

AMANDA, one of the singers at a cafe concert in Boulevard Rochechouart. L'Assommoir.

AMELIE, wife of a journeyman carpenter who occupied a little room at the top of Vabre's tenement-house in Rue Choiseul. Pot-Bouille.

ANDRE , an old countryman at Chavanoz, the village where Miette spent her childhood. La Fortune des Rougon.

ANGELE , a nun attached to the infirmary of the college of Plassans. Her Madonna-like face turned the heads of all the older pupils, and one morning she disappeared with Hermeline, a student of rhetoric. L'Oeuvre.

ANGELIQUE MARIE, born 1851, was the daughter of Sidonie Rougon, by an unknown father. Soon after her birth she was taken to the Foundling Hospital by a nurse, Madame Foucart, and no further inquiries were ever made about her. She was at first boarded with Francoise Hamelin, by whom she was not unkindly treated, and subsequently went to Paris with Louis Franchomme and his wife, who wished to teach her the trade of artificial-flower making. Franchomme having died three months later, his widow went to reside at Beaumont with her brother, Rabier, taking Angelique with her. Unfortunately, Madame Franchomme died a few months afterwards, leaving Angelique to the care of the Rabiers, who used her badly, not even giving her enough to eat. In consequence of their treatment, she ran away on Christmas Day, 1860, and the following morning was found in a fainting condition by Hubert, the chasuble-maker, who noticed her lying in the snow within the porch of the cathedral of Beaumont. Hubert and his wife took the child into their home, and, becoming attached to her, ultimately adopted her as their daughter, teaching her the art of embroidering vestments, in which she became very skilful. Angelique, though an amiable girl, was at first liable to violent attacks of temper, and it was only by the exercise of much patience and tact on the part of Madame Hubert that this tendency was overcome. The girl was always a dreamer, and her cloistered life with the Huberts, along with constant reading of the lives of the saints, brought out all that was mystic in her nature. A chance meeting between Angelique and a young man named Felicien led to their falling in love, she being in entire ignorance of the fact that he was the son of Monseigneur d'Hautecoeur, and a member of one of the oldest and proudest families in France. Felicien's father having refused his consent to a marriage, and a personal appeal to him by Angelique having failed, the lovers were separated for a time. The girl gradually fell into ill-health, and seemed at the point of death when Monseigneur himself came to administer the last rites of the Church. Having been miraculously restored to a measure of health, Angelique was married to Felicien d'Hautecoeur in the great cathedral of Beaumont. She was very feeble, and as she was leaving the church on the arm of her husband she sank to the ground. In the midst of her happiness she died; quietly and gently as she had lived. Le Reve.

ANNOUCHKA, mistress of Souvarine, and implicated with him in a political plot. Disguised as a countryman, she assisted in the undermining of a railway over which an imperial train was to pass, and it was she who eventually lit the fuse. She was captured along with others, and Souvarine, who had escaped, was present at her trial during six long days. When she came to be executed, she looked in vain among the crowd for her lover, till Souvarine mounted on a stone, and, their eyes having met, remained fixed in one long gaze till the end. Germinal.

ANTONIA, waiting-maid to Clorinde Balbi, with whom she was on familiar terms. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.

ARCHANGLAS , a Christian Brother, who lived at Les Artaud, and taught children there. He was a coarse-minded man of violent temper, whose hatred of women led him to make the gravest charges against them. He constituted himself a spy on the actions of Abbe Mouret, and was partly the means of calling back the priest's memory of his sacred calling. He insulted Jeanbernat and Albine so grossly, that after the girl's death the old man attacked him and cut off his right ear with a pocket-knife. La Faute de l'Abbe Mouret.

AUBERTOT , sister of M. Beraud du Chatel, and aunt of Renee and Christine. She gave a large sum of money to Saccard on his marriage to Renee. La Curee.

AUBRY , youngest daughter of a gardener in the employment of Grandmorin. Her mother died when she was in infancy, and she was only thirteen when she lost her father also. President Grandmorin, who was her godfather, took charge of her, and brought her up with his daughter Berthe. The two girls were sent to the same school at Rouen, and spent their holidays together at Doinville. Ignorant and facile, Severine yielded to the designs of the old President, who subsequently arranged a marriage for her with Roubaud, an employee of the Western Railway Company. For three years the couple lived happily, but a moment of forgetfulness, a trifling lie which she neglected to sustain, revealed everything to Roubaud. In an accession of jealous fury he forced his wife to become his accomplice in the murder of Grandmorin, and it was she who threw herself across the limbs of the President while her husband struck the fatal blow. Suspicions fell upon the Roubauds, and indeed the truth was known to M. Camy-Lamotte, but political considerations made it desirable that the character of President Grandmorin should not be publicly discussed, and the inquiry into the murder was dropped. The domestic relations between the Roubauds were becoming more and more strained, and Severine became entirely enamoured of Jacques Lantier. In order to free herself from her husband, she persuaded Lantier to murder Roubaud and fly with her to America. The arrangements were completed when Lantier was seized with one of the homicidal frenzies to which he was subject, and it was Severine herself who fell under his knife instead of their intended victim. La Bete Humaine.

AUGUSTE, a waiter at the Cafe des Varietes. Nana.

AUGUSTE, a young swine-herd at La Borderie. He assisted Soulas, the old shepherd, to look after the sheep. La Terre.

AUGUSTINE, a young girl who assisted Gervaise Coupeau in her laundry. She was squint-eyed and mischievous, and was always making trouble with the other employees. As she was the least qualified and therefore the worst-paid assistant in the laundry, she was kept on after decreasing business caused the others to leave. L'Assommoir.

AUGUSTINE, an artificial-flower maker who was employed by Madame Titreville. L'Assommoir.

AURELIE , an elderly friend of Madame Deberle, at whose house she was a frequent visitor. She was in straitened circumstances. Une Page d'Amour.

AURELIE . See Madame Aurelie Lhomme. Au Bonheur des Dames.

BABET, one of the peasant girls of Les Artaud, who came to decorate the church for the festival of the Virgin. She was a hunchback. La Faute de l'Abbe Mouret.

BACHELARD , brother of Narcisse Bachelard and uncle of Madame Josserand. He conducted for forty years a boarding-school known as the Institution-Bachelard. Pot-Bouille.

BACHELARD . See Madame Josserand. Pot-Bouille.

BACHELARD , a commission agent, whose keen business instincts were not blunted by his intemperate habits. He was a brother of Madame Josserand, and had at one time promised to give a dowry to her daughter Berthe; this promise he was unwilling to implement, and when spoken to on the subject usually feigned intoxication; eventually he suggested the somewhat dishonest plan by which Berthe's intended husband was hoodwinked into the belief that the dowry would be duly forthcoming. His protegee, Fifi, having compromised herself with Gueulin, his nephew, he insisted on their marriage, and presented the girl with a dowry. Pot-Bouille.

BADEUIL , wife of the preceding, was the youngest daughter of Joseph Casimir Fouan. She was the sister of La Grande, of Pere Fouan, and of Michel Fouan, known as Mouche. When her father's estate was divided, she got no land, but received an indemnity in money instead. After she and her husband acquired the establishment in Chartres, she assisted ably in its management. At the time of their retirement to the country, she was a woman of sixty-two years of age, of respectable appearance and an air of religious seclusion. She set a good example by going regularly to Mass, and paid great attention to the education of her granddaughter, Elodie, whom she endeavoured to bring up in entire ignorance of life. She had, however, still a passion for active life, and in busy seasons frequently returned to Chartres to assist her daughter, who had taken over the establishment there. Madame Badeuil received the greatest surprise of her life when she found that her granddaughter whom she had brought up in the innocence of ignorance, was quite aware of the source of the family fortune, and was ready to take up the work begun by her grandparents. La Terre.

BADEUIL , daughter of the preceding, was educated by the Sisters of the Visitation at Chateaudun, and at eighteen was married to Hector Vaucogne, by whom she had one daughter, Elodie. She was thirty years of age before she had any suspicion of the calling of her parents, and at that time she took over the management of their establishment. She proved a capable manager, and in spite of the laziness of her husband, was able to keep up the reputation of the house, though in a few years she killed herself with hard work. La Terre.

BAILLEHACHE, a notary at Cloyes, was born in 1805, and succeeded to several generations of lawyers. He had a large business amongst the peasantry, in whose quarrels he mediated with professional calmness. He arranged the division of Fouan's property between the various members of the old man's family. La Terre.

BAILLEHACHE , eldest sister of the preceding, was born in 1799. She was plain-looking, but good-natured, and at thirty-two married Alexandre Hourdequin, to whom she brought a considerable dowry. She had two children, a son and a daughter, and died in 1855. La Terre.

BALBI , daughter of Comtesse Balbi, was a lady of great beauty, but of eccentric habits. Her position in society being precarious, she determined to establish it by a good marriage, and used every endeavour to induce Eugene Rougon to make her his wife. Having become fascinated by her beauty and charm, he made overtures which she resisted in the belief that he would be the more certain to marry her. He practically decided to do so, but reflection convinced him that marriage with Clorinde Balbi would only injure his prospects of political success. He suggested to her that she should marry his friend Delestang, who was a man of wealth and position, and had expressed admiration for her. Though naturally piqued at such a suggestion coming from Rougon, she consented, and soon after was married. She remained on outwardly friendly terms with Rougon, who was still infatuated by her, but was determined to make him regret the slight he had put upon her. After Rougon's return to office, Delestang, her husband, was, at her request, appointed Minister of Commerce and Agriculture. She had not, however, forgiven Rougon, and privately took a leading part in the agitation against his administration. Having become on somewhat equivocal terms with the Emperor, she was able to secure the acceptance of Rougon's second resignation, and the office of Minister of the Interior for her husband. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.

BALBI , an Italian lady who lived in Paris with her daughter Clorinde. Little was known of her past, and it was generally believed that she was in the employment of the Sardinian Government. After her daughter's marriage to Delestang, she left Paris for some time, the eccentricity of her habits having begun to excite remark. M. De Plouguern, who had originally met her in Italy, remained her lover for thirty years. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.

BALTHAZER, the old horse driven by Madame Francois between Nanterre and Paris. Le Ventre de Paris.

BAMBOUSSE, mayor of the commune of Les Artaud, was more prosperous than the others of his class, as he owned several fields of corn, olives, and vines. His daughter Rosalie having become compromised with Fortune Brichet, Abbe Mouret strongly urged him to consent to a marriage between them, but this he at first refused, as he would lose the services of his daughter, and Fortune was too poor to make him any return. He ultimately consented, and the marriage was solemnized by Abbe Mouret. La Faute de l'Abbe Mouret.

BAMBOUSSE , younger daughter of the preceding, was always in disgrace with Brother Archangias on account of her idle habits and her friendship for Vincent Brichet. La Faute de l'Abbe Mouret.

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