The Monomaniac (La bête humaine)

Émile Zola

Aug 2022 · DigiCat

About this ebook

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Monomaniac (La bête humaine)" by Émile Zola. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

About the author

Émile Zola (1840–1902) was a French novelist, playwright, and journalist, who is best known as the founder of the Naturalist movement in literature. His work is characterized by its intense realism and profound psychological insight. Zola's literary output was extensive, and he was a significant figure in the political liberalization of France. A prominent work in Zola's robust catalogue is 'La bête humaine' (The Human Beast or The Monomaniac), published in 1890. This novel is the seventeenth in his famous 'Les Rougon-Macquart' series, a sweeping chronicle that examined the effects of environment and heredity on two branches of a French family during the Second Empire. 'La bête humaine' is a dark tale of murder and madness set against the backdrop of the burgeoning railway system; it delves into the psychological depths of its protagonist, Lantier, exploring the thin line between civilized man and the 'human beast.' Zola's work in this novel, as with much of his oeuvre, reflects his concerns with the societal impacts of industrialization, class struggle, and human passion. His penetrating analysis of the darkest corners of the human psyche helped to establish Zola as a major figure not just in French literature, but also in the development of the modern novel. His influence is seen in the works of later writers, and his commitment to social issues set a new standard for what literature could achieve.