Nana by Émile Zola (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of Nana with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Nana by Émile Zola, which follows the social rise and fall of the titular character thanks to her relationships with a series of powerful men. The depraved actions of the main character are set against the backdrop of the Second French Empire under Napoleon III, which has been weakened by corruption and decadence and now stands on the brink of collapse. Nana was criticised when it was first published because of its coarse language and immoral characters, but was championed by influential writers such as Flaubert and Maupassant and met with lasting popular success. The novel forms part of Les Rougon-Macquart, an ambitious cycle of 20 novels which tells the story of one extended family under the Second Empire. Émile Zola was the leading figure of the literary school of naturalism, as well as an influential social thinker, and is now regarded as one of France’s greatest novelists.

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• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: May 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9782806295606

Book preview

French writer and journalist

Born in Paris in 1840.

Died in Paris in 1902.

Notable works:

L’Assommoir (1877), novel

The Ladies’ Paradise (1883), novel

Germinal (1885), novel

Émile Zola was born in 1840 and died in 1902. He is considered to be one of the greatest French novelists of the 19th century. He was also the leading figure of naturalism, a movement which sought to apply the experimental scientific methods of the time to literature: after observing reality, Zola would put forward a hypothesis and test it through experimentation in his books. This aesthetic can be seen in particular in Les Rougon-Macquart, a cycle of 20 novels which constitutes his most important work and met with major success, in spite of many criticisms.

Zola was also famous for his social and political stances, which often gave rise to condemnation. The best-known of these concerns the Dreyfus affair; his pamphlet J’accuse (I accuse) had a major influence on the pardoning of the Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935).

Seduction and corruption under the Second French Empire

Genre: novel

Reference edition: Zola, É. (2007) Nana. Trans. Rascoe, B. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

1st edition: 1880

Themes: naturalism, society, prostitution, Second French Empire, vices, poverty

Nana is the ninth novel of Les Rougon-Macquart. It was a huge success with readers, even though it was judged harshly by critics because some of its scenes were deemed immoral.

Nana, which was first published