Doctor PascalDoctor Pascal Rougon, a medical man at Plassans and a distin-guished student of heredity, had brought up his niece Clotilde (daughter of Aristide Rougon alias Saccard) from childhood. Years afterwards they found that they passionately loved one another... His mother, Felicite Rougon, who feared that his researches on heredity might bring scandal on the family, burned all his papers, and in one hour destroyed the work of a lifetime... A child was born to Clotilde, a child which Pascal intensely desired, in the hope that through it might come the regeneration and rejuvenation of his race... The story in the book is both simple and sad. (J. G. Patterson) --- Pascal's works on the members of his family is, in small, what I have attempted to do on humanity, to show all so that all may be cured. It is not a book which, like La Debacle, will stir the passions of the mob. It is a scientific work, the logical deduction and conclusion of all my preceding novels, and at the same time it is my speech in defence of all that I have done before the court of public opinion. (Emile Zola) |
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Abishag adored answer arms ataxia Aunt Dide beautiful blood Bois de Boulogne breath burning chair child Clotilde's continued coup d'état cried death desire doctor door dreadful Emile Zola envelopes eternal everything eyes face fear feeling Félicité felt give grandmother grew grief hands happy heart heredity humanity injections kiss La Souleiade laugh leave light listen live longer looked mademoiselle marriage Martine master Maxime monsieur morning mother Mouret never night o'clock old Mme once pale papers Pascal and Clotilde passed passion plane trees Plassans point d'Alençon Ramond remained returned Rougon Sainte-Marthe Saturnin seemed Seille servant silence slender smile Souleiade speak spite suffering tears tell terrible things thought thousand francs took trembling Tulettes turned Uncle Macquart voice waiting walked wish woman young girl youth