Zola and the Bourgeoisie: A Study of Themes and Techniques in Les Rougon Macquarts by Brian Nelson

The unsentimental but sympathetic portrayal of the working class in such novels as Germinal and L'Assommoir confirmed Zola's social and political interests, but as Brian Nelson points out in this study, Zola was also a great chronicler of the middle class. Nelson delineates the salient features of Zola's depiction of the middle class and identifies its value-structure. He then relates Zola's conception of the bourgeoisie to the general context of his social vision, and finally appraises the specifically literary qualities of four novels carefully chosen for extended analysis.