Political and Economic Aspects of Germinal A N

Published in 1885, Germinal, was the thirteenth of a great series of twenty novels which Zola wrote to completely explore the place of man in his environment from the fashionable point of view of the day, scientific determinism. Germinal concerns itself with the living conditions of the miners in France and the complex interwoven politics and economics of the mining industry as it related to life as a whole at that time. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss this novel in terms of the politics and economics of France during the time period in which the story is set.

Zola's object in Germinal was to study the whole question of coal mining in northern France, working-class conditions, the clash between ownership and labor, and the various solutions put forth by organized labor (9). He accomplishes this feat through a remarkable use of the point of view of the character, Etienne, an educated, intelligent outsider who becomes a mine worker and organizes resistance to the brutal working conditions. Etienne lives as a boarder in the home of the Maheus family, a laboring couple and their seven children and the grandfather, Bonnemort.

Zola was a contemporary of Vincent Van Gogh, and one of his childhood friends was the painter, Cezanne. This is significant because it gives one the understanding that his work is Impressionistic. He describes the inhuman working and living conditions in such relentless d

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economic fact is met with little resistance, even from Maigrat's wife herself who has become resigned to the repulsive circumstance. There is a constant struggle between the classes. The bourgeois owners, the Gregoires, are resented, yet the miners' wives retain a cordial relationship with the Gregoire women who occasionally give out money or food as charity to those who need it. Children die from malnutrition (378) and workers sometimes die in the mines when the tunnels collapse or the volatile gas explodes. The economic deprivation causes destructive rage. During the miners' strike a marauding band of starving women storm Maigrat's shop, kill him, castrate him, and place his testicles on top of a pole which is used as a gory flag for the rest of the protest. In a further impoverished rage, the burned-out catatonic grandfather comes out of a long stupor just long enough to strangle Cecile Gregoire, the ripe eighteen-year old daughter of the mine owners. Until that day he had been a gentle, compliant worker. Both the bourgeoisie and the working-class consider human life to be expendable. Workers toil like animals, and sick children are openly ridiculed. It is hoped that non-productive family members die. Etienne is cons
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Northern France, Souvarine Socialist, Germinal Religion, Zola Published, According Darwin, Cecile Gregoire, Van Gogh, Introduction Germinal, Tancock Translation, northern france, Bonnemort Zola, miners families, living conditions, story set, mining industry, politics economics, story etienne, incredible poverty, family fed, miners' strike,
Approximate Word count = 1571
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)