The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

The world of intrigue, machinations, evil intentions are ruinous for everyone, and even people like Eugene are not immune to the dangers of Parisian politics.

Please discuss the final chapters (XII, XIII, XIV) during the next two weeks.

The personalities of Rougon's clientèle show us what greed can make us do. But the main characters, Eugène and Clorinde, are not so much driven by greed, as by a need for power to compensate emotional deficiencies.

For Eugène, power is necessary to satisfy his longing to be admired by his circle of friends; he is clearly not one to thrive in obscurity as an éminance grise. His dependency on others eventually causes his downfall.

Clorinde wants power to prove that she is as able as any man. A surprisingly feminist theme for the 1870’s, though arguably developed with a male mind-set, (and?) stressing the erotic aspect. Her behaviour is, moreover, at times erratic, showing signs of lunacy.

Overall, I don’t find these heroes quite convincing. Nor is the plot very interesting, so the book remains a bit dull. And I am still not sure about Rougon’s heredity: is it nature or nurture?

The lemma in Wikipedia gives a good résumé: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Exce...

Wendel wrote: "Overall, I don’t find these heroes quite convincing. Nor is the plot very interesting, so the book remains a bit dull. And I am still not sure about Rougon’s heredity: is it nature or nurture?"

Neither do I. They are somewhat artificial in their actions. Zola implies darker emotions flowing under their skin, but they are artificial and very unattainable as characters.

I am not very happy with this novel, but when you read a cycle, such novels should be tolerated. I am sure people who enjoy politics and machinations would enjoy it or at least find it rewarding but I thrive on human drama in books, as I have already mentioned it elsewhere. My heart always wins over my mind, so this rational approach to power is not my cup of tea. There is no verve in Rougon. He is a manipulator, but his life is tidal; he goes back and forth in his power and position.

Clorinde is more intriguing, but even she lacks sensuality and sexuality, and I know Zola can write sensually and sexually charged passages. Politics kills humanity :-)

P.S. I clearly remember posting questions for this section like the ebb and the tide of power, how believable and likable the characters are, how is this Rougon different from the epistle Rougon from the first novel, but either my memory is failing me or the goodreads.com is up with some nasty technical glitches.

Wendel wrote: "The lemma in Wikipedia gives a good résumé: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Exce... "

It really does,. I especially like the section when the relation to other novels in the cycle is discussed. It does build up the sense of perspective.

The cycle of Rougon's circle building him up and tearing him down is something we see with politicians and celebrities these days. Also familiar is how a scandal can be created & built up by word of mouth and the media (in this case the convent story). There's a thrill of schadenfreude in seeing someone famous brought low. Those who benefited from his help claimed they deserved all they got and more, rather than crediting him for anything.

The description of the charity sale was extremely detailed. Zola must have attended something like that. There was a bit of an echo of Marie Antoinette playing at shepherdess, with these ladies playing at being shopgirls and bargirls. The link of money to sex appeal was blatant. It is during this scene that we see Clorinde with her "dog collar" from her new "master". That is the ultimate in selling yourself, in this case for power, as Wendel said. I thought that was creepy. But for Clorinde, she probably feels she is really the master. Her history of sleeping her way to the top reminded me of Evita. Too bad she couldn't rule herself. She had the nerve and the plotting ability for it.

I finally finished the last chapter. Rougon gives a speech which seems awfully familiar today, about how the government needs to have certain controls and surveillance to protect against troublemakers. If you have done nothing wrong, you just shouldn't worry about it.

I did like the speech for its immediacy and the hypocritical undertone. After all, it was delivered by a man who went through the cycles of power, tides and ebbs of manipulation and even 'wheeling and dealing' of sorts.

Clorinde is the most emotionally powerful character in the novel. She did degenerate the level of uneasiness and anxiety in the novel while others mostly were if not formulaic, at least action characters instead of drama characters. I am sure chess players might appreciate this novel; people who enjoy calculating many steps ahead. :-)

Most of these characters didn't really believe in anything, they just wanted to be on the side of power and privilege. Pretty realistic, but rather depressing to read about. A far cry from the idealism of the young couple who started out the cycle!

Now that some of us finally plowed through this volume, will we move on to the next one, maybe in March?

Yes, Robin, we will. I promise!

Thank you, Zulfiya, you are the greatest! No rush - it took extra weeks for me to finish this one. I am hoping the next is more engaging.

I do share your hope:-)

Where can I find the schedule for the Rougon-Macquart cycle for this group? I see from comments that The Kill is due in March, but when is Money due to start, and do we have a date for what/when is after that?
Thanks, Lisa

I am working on a schedule, and I think I will post it tomorrow if there are people who are willing to read the next one. I am all for it, but I need to know that people are committed. :-)

Lisa, our next read is The Kill because we are reading according to the recommended order.

You can find the reading order here
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Zulfiya wrote: "I am working on a schedule, and I think I will post it tomorrow if there are people who are willing to read the next one. I am all for it, but I need to know that people are committed. :-)"

I'm in!

Zulfiya wrote: "I am working on a schedule, and I think I will post it tomorrow if there are people who are willing to read the next one. I am all for it, but I need to know that people are committed. :-)"

So am I. For now (it's such a lòòng haul!).

I'd like to participate too. I've been following the schedule but had been behind in reading, so I didn't post. With the break I am now caught up and am ready to go! :-)