Doctor PascalDoctor Pascal (orig. French Le Docteur Pascal) is the twentieth and final novel of the Rougon-Macquart series by Emile Zola, first published in June 1893 by Charpentier. The novel was translated into English by Ernest A. Vizetelly in 1894 (reprinted 1925 and 1995); by Mary J. Serrano in 1898 (reprinted 2005); and by Vladimir Kean in 1957. Zola's plan for the Rougon-Macquart novels was to show how heredity and environment worked on the members of one family over the course of the Second Empire. He wraps up his heredity theories in this novel. Le docteur Pascal is furthermore essentially a story about science versus faith. The novel begins in 1872, after the fall of the Second Empire and the end of the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. The title character, Pascal Rougon (b. 1813), is the son of Pierre and Frlicitr Rougon, whose rise to power in the fictional town of Plassans is detailed in the first novel of the series La fortune des Rougon. Pascal, a physician in Plassans for 30 years, has spent his life cataloging and chronicling the lives of his family based on his theories of heredity. Pascal believes that everyone's physical and mental health and development can be classified based on the interplay between innateness (reproduction of characteristics based in difference) and heredity (reproduction based in similarity). Using his own family as a case study, Pascal classifies the 30 descendants of his grandmother Adelaide Fouque (Tante Dide) based on this model. |
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Abishag abominable already amid anguish answer arms asked Aunt Dide became become began breath centenarian cheval glass child Clotilde's cure death delightful desire despair divine Doctor documents door drawer ÉMILE ZOLA everything exclaimed eyes face feeling Félicité felt francs fresh frightful gazed genealogical-tree girl grandmother grief hand happiness head heart heredity human kiss La Souleiade laugh liqueur listened live longer looked Macquart Mademoiselle marriage Martine master Maxime mind Monsieur morning mother never night o'clock old Madame Rougon once pale Pascal and Clotilde passion plane-trees Plassans point d'Alençon poor puncture quincunx quiver Ramond remained Rougon-Macquart Saturnin second breakfast seemed Seille servant silence simply smile Souleiade speak suffering tears tell terrible Thereupon things thought town trees Tulettes turn voice waiting whilst window woman workroom young Zola