L'assommoir
(Emile Zola)
Published in 1877, L?Assommoir (The Drinking Den) by French writer Emile Zola, is probably one of the best known inZola's Rougen-Macquart cycle of books. As a Naturalist writer, Zola?s aim was to explore the effects of heredity and environment on two branches of the same family ? one descended from the sober, hard-working Rougon and the other from Macquart, a violent alcoholic. L?Assommoir features Gervaise, a child of Antoine Macquart.Upon its release, the novel was widely criticized for its uncompromising, ?warts and all? portrayal of French working-class life. Gervaise and her two sons are abandoned by her worthless lover, Lantier. She meets Coupeau, a genial teetotaler and, despite her disinclination to marry, she accepts his offer of marriage for fear of hurting his feelings. Intitially, they enjoy a life of quiet, hard-working prosperity ? Coupeau as a roofer and Gervaise as the owner of a successful laundry business. When their daughter Anna (Nana) is born, their happiness seems complete.Fate, however, intervenes and Coupeau falls from a roof and injures his back. He takes to drink during his convalescence and does not return to work. Gervaise?s good-natured generosity is taken advantage of by spongers and hangers-on. Their lives are further complicated by the return of her former lover, Lantier. Gradually, their hard-earned savings are frittered away and their comfortable existence dissolves into poverty and debt. Amidst brilliant scenes such as the wedding party?s chaotic trip to the Louvre, the epic dinner party at the launderette and the poignance of Gervaise?s gentle, platonic relationship with the noble-hearted Gouget; we witness the tragic decline of our heroine and her steady march to ruin as she becomes caught in the vicious cycle of alcoholism, prostitution, filth and squalor. She eventually dies a pauper?s death.L?Assommoir is a masterpiece of French literature and, if you only read one of Zola?s novels, make sure it is this.
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