PARISIAN SKETCHES

By Emile Zola

Emile Zola's 'Parisian Sketches' offers a vivid and detailed portrayal of Parisian society in the 19th century, highlighting the struggles of the working class and the excesses of the bourgeoisie. Zola's naturalistic writing style brings the city to life, capturing the sights, sounds, and smells of Paris with remarkable precision. Through a series of interconnected vignettes, the author explores themes of class inequality, urban poverty, and the impact of industrialization on everyday life. The book serves as both a social commentary and a work of art, displaying Zola's keen observations and deep empathy for his subjects. Emile Zola, known for his role in the literary movement of naturalism, drew inspiration from his own experiences and observations of French society. His background as a journalist and his commitment to social justice are evident in 'Parisian Sketches,' as he eloquently exposes the harsh realities of urban life. I highly recommend 'Parisian Sketches' to readers interested in exploring the complexities of 19th-century Parisian society through the eyes of a masterful writer. Zola's unique blend of realism and compassion makes this book a compelling and thought-provoking read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Musaicum Books
• Release date: Oct 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9788027218745

Emile Zola

Émile Zola (1840-1902) was a French novelist, journalist, and playwright. Born in Paris to a French mother and Italian father, Zola was raised in Aix-en-Provence. At 18, Zola moved back to Paris, where he befriended Paul Cézanne and began his writing career. During this early period, Zola worked as a clerk for a publisher while writing literary and art reviews as well as political journalism for local newspapers. Following the success of his novel Thérèse Raquin (1867), Zola began a series of twenty novels known as Les Rougon-Macquart, a sprawling collection following the fates of a single family living under the Second Empire of Napoleon III. Zola’s work earned him a reputation as a leading figure in literary naturalism, a style noted for its rejection of Romanticism in favor of detachment, rationalism, and social commentary. Following the infamous Dreyfus affair of 1894, in which a French-Jewish artillery officer was falsely convicted of spying for the German Embassy, Zola wrote a scathing open letter to French President Félix Faure accusing the government and military of antisemitism and obstruction of justice. Having sacrificed his reputation as a writer and intellectual, Zola helped reverse public opinion on the affair, placing pressure on the government that led to Dreyfus’ full exoneration in 1906. Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901 and 1902, Zola is considered one of the most influential and talented writers in French history.

Book preview

THE BOOT-POLISHING VIRGIN

Table of Contents

I

SHE is still in bed, with her nightdress open at the neck, a smile on her lips, her head on the pillow, and her eyes still drowsy. One of her arms is quite hidden under her hair, the other is hanging over the side of the bed.

The Count, in his slippers, standing before one of the windows, gently draws up the curtain, smoking a cigar, and absorbed in thought.

You all know her.... She is twenty years of age, but she looks barely sixteen. On her head she wears the most magnificent crown that heaven ever granted to one of its angels — a brownish-gold crown, thick and strong as a horse’s mane, soft as a skein of silk. This wave of fire flows all over her neck, each flaming wisp twisting rebelliously and lengthening out mightily; the curls falling, the tresses sliding down and rolling round, the whole head resplendent, like an aurora. And under the burning mass, in the midst of this splendour, are seen a white delicate neck, creamy shoulders, and a full bosom. This snowy neck, showing itself discreetly in the midst of this fiercely red hair, is irresistibly seductive. When the eyes forget themselves so far as to explore that bust of soft lights and golden shades, passion is kindled and burns; for there you find combined, the wild beast and the child, immodesty and innocence, causing an intoxication which make ardent kisses rise to the lips.

Is she beautiful?... One cannot tell. Her whole face is hidden under masses of hair. She should have a low forehead, with wide eyes of a greyish colour: her nose is doubtless irregular and capricious; her mouth rather big, with rosy lips.

However, what matters it? You could not enter into details of her looks nor determine the exact shape of her face. She intoxicates you at first sight as a strong wine elevates with the first glass. All you can perceive is a dazzling whiteness in the midst of a red flame, a rosy smile, and eyes with the reflection of silver in the sun’s rays. Your head is turned and you are already too much her slave to be able to study her perfections one by one.

She is, I believe, of medium height, rather plump, and slow in her movements. She has the hands and feet of a little girl. All her body expresses a lazy voluptuousness. One of her bare arms, rounded and dazzlingly white, is, alone, enough to turn any one’s head. She is