ZOLA, zeal (Fr. Emile Edouard Charles Antoine, French novelist: b. Paris, 2 April 1840; d. there, 29 Sept. 1902. He was educated at the College of Aix, from which he went to the Lycee Saint Louis at Paris with a scholarship in 1858. His career there was un distinguished, and he left in 1860 after failing to take his degree owing to in literature. After a brief experience as a clerk in a business house he was for more than a year compelled to sound the lowest depths of pov erty in Paris, but in 1861 he obtained employ ment as a shopman with MM. Hachette, the publishers, at a salary of about five dollars a week. He devoted his spare time to literary work, contributing short stories to the Petit Journal and La Vie Parisienne and critical articles to the Saint Public of Lyons and after ward to Villemessant's journals, L.Evenentent and the Figaro. Several of his stories were published separately in the volumes 'Contes Ninon) (1864), which contain some of his best and purest work, and which were followed in 1874 by 'Nouveaux Comes a Ninon.' Some of his critical articles were collected under the title 'Mes Haines) (1866). In 'La Confession de Claude' (1865), a novel in which he utilized his early struggles, we find him already in full progress toward the characteristic work of his maturity, and this tendency became still more marked in the immediately succeeding novels: Vceu d'une Morte' (1866) ; 'Les Mysteres de Marseille) (1867) ; (Therese Raquin' (1867), a powerful study of the effects of remorse fol lowing on adultery and murder; and 'Made leine Ferat) (1868). Having by this time gained a secure footing in the world of letters, he conceived the plan of the series of novels known as 'Les Rougon-Macquart' (1871-93), which includes his best-known work and occu pied him for nearly a quarter of a century. It is described as an 9ustoire naturelle et sociale d'une famille sous le second empire,> and con sists of 20 works dealing with different phases of modern life, not always strictly that of the Second Etnpire, but rather that of the Third Republic. The particular departments of life treated in the volumes were studied by Zola in the spirit of a scientific observer, but of one with a decided bias toward the portrayal of moral filth and disease; and the bond of con nection which constitutes them a series is the persistence under various forms in all the members of the Rougon family of a moral taint which is transmitted in accordance with Zola's views of heredity. The series consists of the following works: 'La Fortune des Ron gon' (1871); 'La Curie' (1814) ; (La Con quite de Plassans' (1874); 'Le Ventre de Paris' (1874), treating of the Paris markets; 'La Faute de l'Abbe Mouret' (1875), whose subject is clerical celibacy; 'Son Excellence Eugene Rougon' (1876); 'L'Assommoir' (1877), a powerful but revolting study of the effects of drunkenness and idleness, the first great success of the series; 'line page d'amour) (1878); 'Nana' (1880), a coarse picture of courtesan life; 'Pot-Bouille (1832); Bonheur des Dames' (1883), dealing with the great shops of Paris; joie de Vivre' (1%3); 'Germinal' (1885), treating of the life of French miners; (L'CEuvre) (1886), in which he dissects literary and artistic decedents; 'La Terre) a study of the French peasantry in which prurient naturalism reaches the zenith of repulsiveness; 'Le Rive' (1888); 'La Bete Humaine' (1890), treating of railways; (1891), dealing with stockbrokers and company promoters; 'La Debacle' 11892), a powerfully realistic picture of military life in connection with the Franco-German war and the break-up of the Second Empire; and 'Le Docteur Pascal' (1893), in which the whole is brought to a conclusion. Immediately after
completing this huge undertaking he started the 'Trois Villes' series, consisting of (1894), 'Rome' (1896), and 'Paris' (1898), in which he portrays the spiritual development of a priest, I'ierre Froment, out of miraculous Christianity through a sort of social Cathol icism into a creed of justice and labor. In the incomplete tetralogy entitled 'Les Quatres Evangiles' ((The Four Gospels') he proposed to formulate his social gospel. The first vol ume is 'Ficondite (1900), whose hero, Mathieu, is the son of the hero of the preced ing series. The second volume, 'Travail' ('Labor,' 1901), has a hero named Luc; and of the remaining two, 'Verite (Truth) and 'Justice.' whose heroes were to be named after the other two evangelists, the former was ap pearing at the time of his death. In the eyes of English readers Zola appears best in his short stories, of which, in addition to those already mentioned, collections entitled (Le Capitaine Burle' (1882), and 'Naffs Micoulin' (1883) have been published. His famous story of (L'Attaque du Moulin' forms part of the vol ume of 'Soirees de Medan' (1880), to which Maupassant and other friends also contributed. He defended his view of the nature and func tion of literary art and collected many critical articles in several works. Several of his novels were dramatized by himself and others, and he also wrote for the stage 'Les Heritiers Ra bourdin' (1874), and (Le Bouton de Rose' (1878), but none of them, except (L'Assom moiri (1881), known in Charles Reade's Eng lish version as 'Drink' (1879), were at all suc cessful. On 13 Jan. 1898, Zola, convinced of the innocence of Captain Dreyfus, (q.v.) went chivalrously to the defense of that officer in a letter 'J'Accuse' published in L'Anrore. In it he arraigned the government for the irregu larities of Dreyfus 's trial, making charges that practically forced the government to prosecute him, an expedient that achieved its purpose in reopening the Dreyfus case and led to the com plete vindication of that officer. Zola was tried in February 1898 and a verdict imposing im prisonment and fine was brought against him. He appealed the case and the verdict was quashed by the Cour de Caseation. 2 April 1898 A second trial was called and Zola, his purpose accomplished, decided not to appear, but went to England where he remained until the amnesty for offenders connected with the Dreyfus case, 24 Dec. 1900, permitted his return to France. His account of his connection with the case is given in (L'affaire Dreyfus. La veritie en marche> (1901). He was created a knight of the Legion of Honor in 1::•: and an is 1893, but after his condemnation in 1898 his name was removed from the roll. He was president of the Societe des Gens de Lettres in 1891-94, but he was repeatedly refused ad mission to the Academy. Zola was the recog nized head of the naturalistic school in fiction. but his followers were latterly few in number. His novels belong rather to the domain of science than to that of art. They are studies, in the main faithful enough not free from distortion and exaggeration, in moral and social pathology; but they are not true to life and nature in the fullest sense, in the only sense which would entitle them to rank as artistic creations. Translations of the most important have appeared, chiefly by Vizetelly. Consult Brunetiere, "Le Roman Naturaliste' (1883) R. H. Sherard's highly eulogistic biographical and critical study (1893) ; Proces Zola' (2 vols. 1898; Eng. trans. 1898); Vizetelly, E. A., Zola, Novelist and (1904); and his 'Letters' (1908).