(1893) [
Doctor Pascal] is the twentieth and final novel of Émile Zola’s
Rougon-Macquartcycle (1871-1893), the cornerstone of the Naturalist movement. In emulation of Honoré de Balzac’s (1799-1850) great literary achievement, the ninety-one completed novels of
La Comédie humaine, Les Rougon-Macquartis Zola’s attempt to produce a comprehensive natural and social history of life in Second Empire France (1852-1870). The cycle follows the two titular branches of the family to demonstrate the effects of heredity and environment, and
Le Docteur Pascalis the summative culmination of Zola’s Naturalist project. Zola’s Naturalist novels had sparked a fierce polemic in France: condemnation of the perceived excesses of Naturalism was heightened with the publication of…
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Citation: Jones, Sarah. "Le Docteur Pascal". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 January 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35768, accessed 24 November 2024.]