Zola~ Germinal

Zola was a 19th century writer from France, who was, for all intents and purposes an extremely controversial figure. Now typically when we think of French writers we think about Les Mis and Victor Hugo or The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexander Dumas. But Zola isn’t someone that is probably top of our list and that is because what Zola is best known for is really not his novels.

So, Zola was born in Paris in 1840 though he was raised outside of the city. He grew up in pretty abject poverty and he didn’t really come into his own until he was able to get a job and then was able to start submitting writing pieces to newspapers or periodicals of the time.

He was actually most well known, though, for what is referred to as the Dreyfus affair, wherein the French military accused and convicted Alfred Dreyfus of being a spy. Zola believed Dreyfus was simply set up by the military to take the fall because was Jewish, and when evidence surfaced that another man was guilty, but he ended up being acquitted, Zola published an infamous editorial about the affair. This led to Dreyfus’ conviction being overturned by the French Supreme Court, but it also led to Zola’s own arrest and trial for libel, for which he was found guilty and sentenced to a year in Prison.

In his writing, Zola came into his own a several years after Hugo and Dumas and while the writing is really similarly “French,”, the primary difference is that Hugo and Dumas told stories where the characters grow and find redemption. But Zola was influenced by Charles Darwin and was really the founder of the realist movement in literature and theater in France. So, while Dumas and Hugo tell stories where characters grow and change over time, Zola relied on the idea that genetics are fixed. He put characters with specific genetic identities in a situation and then allowed them to come to what he believed to be their natural endings. The individuals do not change, but they change the environment to fit their own personality. And those endings, by the way, were typically not really very good.

Even Zola’s death was a bit controversial. He died in 1902 after his chimney got blocked up and smoked filled his home, leading to his asphyxiation. Some, however, believed he was purposely murdered for his overt and public support of Dreyfus and criticism of the French military.

The 1800s in France were a tumultuous time and this definitely comes out in Zola’s novel Germinal.

What it’s about: There are three layers to this classic novel. The story itself revolves around the workers and managers of coal mines dotting the French countryside in the 1800’s. When unfair labor practices, and cripplingly low pay, drive the already struggling workers to the brink of starvation, a young man, new to the mines, but having gained a favorable reputation, leads his comrades in a strike. The thrust of the story follows this young man, Etienne, as he searches for knowledge, popularity, companionship, equality, and control. Underlying this, however, is a political and social statement that reflects the political and social turmoil in France at the time. It’s as much about the sharp divide of class lines, and their inherent associated biases, as it is about the plight of coal miners in a time before union protection. But yet, despite these two very serious lines running through the novel this is, at heart, a love story, though not a traditional love story by any means. In a sense there are several love stories running through Germinal, and while it might be that these are the least important messages in the book, it is also the case that they are the driving force behind everything else.

My take: Germinal is a dense read and in general these classic French novels are not my favorite. Zola’s detail is almost overwhelming at times and there are so many characters who come and go throughout the narrative that they become hard to track. However, it is amazing how easily he transports his reader into 19th century life. In one instant I felt the dull pains of hunger made inevitable from extreme poverty, the immense heat and stifling air working in the unsafe mine shafts, the aching exhaustion from living such an impossibly hard existence. But, within minutes Zola had transported me the cushiness of the middle class manager’s homes, with their well laid table, their comfortable beds, and an ignorant misunderstanding of the lives of their workers. The characters are all dichotomies, and you find yourself admiring them at one turn and despising them the next. You grow attached to none of them, you find yourself without tears at the most horrific of their deaths, young or old. None are innocent, even though they are also not bad. And you wonder how you can spend an entire year and a half mingling around the lives of these people and still be apathetic to them. But, that is Zola’s goal and he masters it superbly. So, did I like the book? No, but I also did not dislike it, and I found myself appreciating the writer for his craft, if not the output itself.

Who should read it: The main audience would be anyone who is particularly interested in the political strife associated with 19th century France. They will find a commentary (though disjointed and confused as it is seen through the eyes of Etienne as he tries to come to terms with his own politics) on capitalism, socialism, communism, class warfare, and early attempts at unionizing. A late contemporary of Victor Hugo, anyone who enjoys his work may also find interest in Zola’s work as well (though see my notes below before picking up a copy). In addition, I would recommend it for anyone who tends to cling to the belief that the poor are lazy or idle, or anyone who is unable to relate to the plight of those in the utmost poverty. Though they will not like it, it actually presents a view of poverty that highlights the worst of those in need, but also clearly reconciles this with their destitution.

Who should not read it: Anyone under the age of 17 (at least). Zola, unlike Hugo, does not present his underlying love stories with any kind of modicum. It is rife with sex, rape, murder, animal and human cruelty, spousal and child abuse, and in some senses pure evil. There is violence, deception, murder, and dismemberment. It is not for anyone who is easily offended by carnal lust or spilling of blood. The humans in this novel are all portrayed at their most primal, running on instinct and ignorance. Etienne is a single link in the armor of intelligence being built by the lower class, but it is clear that they are not yet ready to wear it.

Bottom Line: Don’t expect a happy ending, just perhaps a hopeful one.

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