La Bête HumaineLa Bete humaine (1890), the seventeenth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series, is one of Zola's most violent and explicit works. On one level a tale of murder, passion, and possession, it is also a compassionate study of individuals derailed by atavistic forces beyond their control. Zola considered this his 'most finely worked' novel, and in it he powerfully evokes life at the end of the Second Empire in France, where society seemed to be hurtling into the future like the new locomotives and railways it was building. While expressing the hope that human nature evolves through education and gradually frees itself of the burden of inherited evil, he is constantly reminding us that under the veneer of technological progress there remains, always, the beast within. This new translation captures Zola's fast-paced yet deliberately dispassionate style, while the introduction and detailed notes place the novel in its social, historical, and literary context. |
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already arms asked Barentin Barrême Bécourt blood breath Cabuche Camy-Lamotte carriage caught coming compartment coupé Croix-de-Maufras Dabadie dark dead Denizet deputy stationmaster Doinville door driver ÉMILE ZOLA engine everything eyes face fear feel felt fireman Flore girl gone Grandmorin hand Havre head heard hour husband Jacques kill kiss knew knife L'Assommoir LA BÊTE HUMAINE La Croix-de-Maufras Lachesnaye laughed Le Havre Legion of Honour level crossing Lison looked magistrate Malaunay mind minute Misard Mme Bonnehon Mme Lebleu morning moved murder never night once Paris passion Pecqueux Philomène President railway Roubaud Rouen round seemed seen Séverine shut silence sleep snow Sotteville speed staring station stayed stood stopped suddenly talking tell thing thought took train tunnel turned voice waiting walked wanted watch whistle wife window woman young Zola