Au Bonheur des Dames

by Émile Zola

Overview

The industrialization of Europe affected travel, medicine, communication, and more. Zola's œuvre covers all of these; yet it is in Au Bonheur des Dames that he discusses fashion. To Zola, mode represents commercialism and excess. Denise, the novel's protagonist, comes to Paris from a small town looking for luxury, wealth, or at the very least, security. Instead, she witnesses firsthand the perils of industrialization. A saleswoman at the titular department store, she finds herself overworked to the point of being dehumanized, becoming a machine in her own right.

Émile Zola (1840 - 1902) was a French novelist and playwright. His most celebrated works of fiction include the novel Thérèse Raquin and the Les Rougon-Macquart series. He is also known for his essay J'accuse...!, supporting Alfred Dreyfus and criticizing antisemitism in France.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9782035855855
Publisher:	Larousse
Publication date:	02/04/2009
Series:	Petits Classiques Larousse
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB
Language:	French

About the Author

Chef de l'école naturaliste, il voulut appliquer la rigueur scientifique à la description des faits humains et sociaux. Accordant une importance capitale aux déterminations héréditaires des passions humaines, il entreprit un grand cycle romanesque reposant sur son expérience vécue et sur une minutieuse enquête préalable, les Rougon-Macquart, histoire naturelle et sociale d'une famille sous le second Empire (1871 - 1893). Attiré par les théories socialistes, puis évoluant vers une vision messianique de l'avenir humain (les Quatre Évangiles, 1899 - 1903), il prit parti en faveur de Dreyfus (J'accuse, 1898). Il a laissé aussi des ouvrages de critique d'art (Édouard Manet, 1867) et de critique littéraire (le Roman expérimental, 1880).