Emile Zola's "Au Bonheur des Dames"

Paper Summary:

An analysis of Zola's novel "Au Bonheur des Dames" by studying the characters. The backdrop of the novel is the theme of how capitalism is stronger than the bourgeois life. The characters are played out along this theme by living their simple life and we are shown how the economic forces steer them.

From the Paper:

"Au Bonheur des Dames (1883), or The Ladies Paradise, is one of the later novels in Zola s Rougon-Macquart cycle. It is a satirical, cynical novel in its narrative tone, yet is also quite optimistic. Its main theme is how modern capitalism, modern forms of consumer behavior, and modern morality triumph over the old ways of bourgeois life. These historical and social struggles both provide a background for and illuminate the romantic escapades of the owner and capitalist hero of the book, Octave Mouret and the heroine, the naive Denise Baudu. Denise is a worker in his store The Ladies Paradise. Denise provides the moral force of change in the novel; Octave Mouret exemplifies the force of social change in commerce. "

More papers on Emile Zola's "Au Bonheur des Dames":

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• Analytical Essay # 5550 : "Emile Zola's "The Ladies Paradise"

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