Détruire le réel : « l’outrance de sève » du Paradou (à propos de La Faute de l’abbé Mouret, d’Émile Zola)

• Authors: Sophie Guermès

Title variants

EN

To destroy Reality : the « extravagant sap » of Paradou

PL

Détruire le réel : « l’outrance de sève » du Paradou (à propos de La Faute de l’abbé Mouret, d’Émile Zola)

• Languages of publication: FR

Abstracts

EN

Naturalism is based on the sense of Reality. But Zola broke this one in the second part of his novel La Faute de l’abbé Mouret, by the description of the garden named « Paradou ». As usual, he used numerous documents and he inserted lists of names (flowers, plants, trees) into his novel ; but the result is not the same as in the other novels containing lists of names of foodstuffs (Le Ventre de Paris) or clothes (Au Bonheur des dames). The reference vanishes because Zola often accumulates names of plants unknown although existing ; besides, he multiplies metaphors, so that it is impossible to visualize Paradou, which is a strange creation. The description of the garden distorts and even destroys reality but builds a poetic object.

PL

Naturalism is based on the sense of Reality. But Zola broke this one in the second part of his novel La Faute de l’abbé Mouret, by the description of the garden named « Paradou ». As usual, he used numerous documents and he inserted lists of names (flowers, plants, trees) into his novel ; but the result is not the same as in the other novels containing lists of names of foodstuffs (Le Ventre de Paris) or clothes (Au Bonheur des dames). The reference vanishes because Zola often accumulates names of plants unknown although existing ; besides, he multiplies metaphors, so that it is impossible to visualize Paradou, which is a strange creation. The description of the garden distorts and even destroys reality but builds a poetic object.

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Gdański
• Journal: Cahiers ERTA
• Year: 2013
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 69-82

Dates

published

2013-06-01

Contributors

author

Sophie Guermès