Striving towards Resemblance: Inherited Duality in Émile Zola’s "Le Docteur Pascal"
Keywords:
Zola, heredity, madness, medical theory.
Abstract
Émile Zola’s Le Docteur Pascal closes the naturalistic cycle Rougon-Macquart in 1893. In this novel, the question of belonging to an insane family is raised once again. Pascal is a reflection of the writer, for he has been studying his family for twenty years, a family whose dossiers he continues to keep in a closed cupboard. To guarantee the scientific quality of his investigations, the doctor has to be exempt from the hereditary mark. But he suffers a crisis of madness, and seeks to discover whom he resembles. The experiment ends with the acceptance of the inherent duality of our being. In this paper I study the medical theories that inspired Zola, and the paradox of the medical authority, which will eventually turn mad.Downloads
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Published
2012-05-27
How to Cite
Díaz Cornide M. (2012). Striving towards Resemblance: Inherited Duality in Émile Zola’s "Le Docteur Pascal". Thélème. Revista Complutense de Estudios Franceses, 27, 147-160. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_THEL.2012.v27.38929
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