Excess and "fêlure" in Zola’s "La Curée": study on representations of agency

Abstract

The concept of agency, on different terms, acquires a central role in modern thinking. In this article, I endeavour to analyze its decomposition by using a reading of Émile Zola’s La Curée in light of the philosophy of François de Smet. First, I will examine the central reflections of De Smet’s volume Lost Ego. La tragédie du “Je suis”, so as to describe the three fictions that objectify agency in the Zolian novel: naturalist determinism, mythic fate and epic self-determination. The coexistence of these three narratives within the story causes a saturation rupture that leads me to rethink the notion of fêlure. Finally, I will connect La Curée’s decomposed agency with the current ethical context.