The Beast Within - Emile Zola [228]
4 a vivid splash of colour in the pale afternoon light: The opening description of the station, with its emphasis on modern structures of glass and steel, the effect of hazy sunlight and the vivid red of the signal, calls to mind paintings of the Gare Saint-Lazare made in 1877 by Claude Monet (1840 — 1926). Zola had promoted the work of Impressionist painters and acknowledged that his own descriptive techniques owed much to them.
5 cylinder taps: An example of the sort of technical detail that Zola had researched and was determined to include in his novel. The cylinder taps, when opened, allowed steam to be passed at high pressure through the cylinders in order to expel water condensation and other chemical deposits which collected in them when the locomotive was stationary. The effect could be quite dramatic!
6 the clatter of turntables: In the early days of railway construction, turntables (or ‘turnplates’ as they were first called) were situated on the arrival tracks of mainline stations to enable wagons and carriages to be shunted around the station or into adjoining sidings. By the 1870s they had begun to disappear. In his preparatory notes for the description of the station, Zola records the distinctive sound made by the turntables as trains ran over them.
7 six thousand francs: Zola is determined to give his novel a sense of contemporary realism and he is specific about money throughout. The figures he mentions would have made the Dauvergnes a comfortably placed family, in receipt of two full-time salaries and housing and heating concessions too (see A Note on Money).
8 Sub-Prefect: Prefects and sub-prefects were responsible for the local administration of a département. They were appointed directly by the Emperor and wielded great authority. One of their most important functions was to control elections and ensure the return of government-nominated candidates (see note 13 below).
9 and then it was back to the grind!: This conversation between Roubaud and Henri Dauvergne exemplifies the way in which Zola handles spoken exchanges throughout the novel, with a mixture of direct speech, indirect speech and free indirect speech.
10 Plassans:Zola’s fictional name for Aix-en-Provence, where he had spent most of his childhood and youth (1843 — 58). Plassans is the town in which the Rougon-Macquarts have their roots. Adélaïde Fouque, the ancestress of both branches of the family, is described in La Fortune des Rougon (chapter 2) as being born there in 1768. The town is referred to repeatedly throughout the novel cycle.
11 President Grandmorin: ‘President’ is a title designating a High Court judge, a title which Grandmorin retains, despite having officially retired, and which marks him out as a man of considerable means and influence.
12 the Bon Marché: A large department store in Paris, founded in 1852 by Aristide Boucicaut (1810 — 77). The life and intrigues of a Paris department store are portrayed in an earlier novel in the series, Au Bonheur des Dames (translated as The Ladies’ Delight by Robin Buss, Penguin Classics, 2001).
13 the forthcoming general elections: These were not the sort of open, democratic elections that the present-day reader might be familiar with. Zola refers to elections to the lower house of the Legislative Assembly (L’Assemblée legislative). The Legislative Assembly was charged with converting national policy into law but it was given only limited powers. Laws were formulated by the upper house, which was appointed by the Emperor himself and which met in secret. Members of the lower house, which could ratify or reject but not initiate or amend legislation, were elected by male suffrage. These elections were carefully managed. Certain candidates were nominated by the government and designated as ‘official’ candidates. It was the responsibility