Biography
Émile Zola was born on April 2, 1840 in Paris, France to François and Émilie Zola. François (originally named Francesco Antonio Giuseppi Maria Zolla) was a native of Venice, Italy who moved to Paris in 1840 to pursue his dreams of being a successful engineer. After Émilie Zola met her husband and gave birth to her son, the family of three moved to Aix, France in 1843. In Aix, François completed his life dream of building the “Zola Canal”, but the expenses of it left his family completely destitute. A few years later, in 1847, he died suddenly from a respiratory ailment and left his wife and child with no money. Poverty would remain a constant struggle for Zola and his family all of his life.
Growing up, Zola hated authority figures so he performed poorly in school (Schom 23). He was also bullied because of his financial situation and developed a stutter. As a result, he gave very few public speeches throughout his life (Schom 22).
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In 1857, his grandmother, the family’s main source of income at the time, died so Zola’s mother moved them to the Latin Quarter of Paris. There, Zola attended the Lycée School and studied the natural sciences, but he found his true passion in poetry. Zola failed his final examinations so following school, he
Carjat, Étienne. "Émile Zola." Museum of Photographic Arts, Wikimedia Commons, 1865.
had no job prospects, much to his mother’s disappointment. At this time, he began to feel extremely lonely in Paris. His mother ceased talking with him, and he had left all of his friends back home in Aix (including Paul Cézanne, a very famous post-impressionist painter). All alone, he began thinking introspectively, particularly about love and companionship, which motivated him to begin writing. Thus, he wrote his first (unpublished) novel, La Confession de Claude.
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He published his first book in 1864 called Contes à Ninon. It was a great feat for a man who came from nothing like Zola did. Although he published several books at the beginning of his writing career, sales did not generate enough income to pay off his debts so he became a journalist to bring in income. As he published columns for newspapers, Zola continued his writings and published his most famous novel, Thérèse Raquin (1867), which he then turned into a play in 1873.
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In 1870, Zola married Gabrielle-Alexdrine Meley, and they moved into a home in Médan, France that became the meeting place for many French novelists, such as Guy de Maupassant and Joris-Karl Huysmans (Berg). He stayed married to Alexdrine until he died, but he had a 14 year affair with one of the housemaids, Jeanne Rozerot who bore his only children, Denise and Jacques.
"Father of Naturalism"
In the 80s and 90s, Zola became an avid proponent of naturalism in literature, theatre, and art. In 1880, he published an essay called “Le Roman experimental” that became the naturalism manifesto. The concept of naturalism was inspired by his study of science in school. Zola fought for “scientific determinism” in art, arguing that pieces of work should focus on a character who undergoes a series of social and emotional tests, much like an independent variable in a science experiment (Berg). These works, which included Thérèse Raquin, often explored the psychological nature of humans.
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In 1898, Zola took part in a famous French conflict called the Dreyfus affair, where a Jewish French army officer by the name of Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason. The controversy was widespread throughout France, and Zola decided to voice his opinion that Dreyfus was innocent. In 1898, Zola wrote in the newspaper L’Aurore against the French government and many high-ranking officers. He was charged with libel and fled to England in 1899. He returned to France a year later after the verdict of Dreyfus’s case was overturned.
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Zola died in September 1902 due to coal gas asphyxiation from a chimney. He was, and still is, recognized as one of the greatest French novelists and naturalism theorists.
Manet, Edouard. "Émile Zola." Musée d'Orsay, Musée d'Orsay Index of Works.1865.
Works Cited:
Berg, William J. “Émile Zola.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 23 Mar. 2018, www.britannica.com.