Zola: 'Nana' (review)

Roger Clark's guide to Nana reflects the recent shift in the way in which nineteenth-century French literature is increasingly frequently taught at undergraduate level. Instead of offering a traditional analysis of the text, Clark presents a reading of Nana which concentrates on situating the novel in its historical, literary and artistic contexts and the guide is clearly intended for students who have little or no knowledge of Zola, Naturalism or the Second Empire. The first two chapters are full of important background information on the character of Nana and her place in Zola's work. As well as looking in some detail at Nana's youth as depicted in L'Assommoir, Clark provides a detailed discussion of the Rougon-Macquart family's tainted heredity which he sets alongside an analysis of Zola's particular brand of Naturalism and the influence of Balzac on the novelist's conception of Nana. Zola's relationship with the Impressionists, particularly Manet, is also discussed in some detail. Moving on to analysis of the novel proper, Clark concentrates his examination on a number of the novel's most emblematic episodes — Nana's first appearance on stage at the Variétés theatre (and hence the role of the theatre in the novel more generally), Fauchery's 'Golden Fly' article, Nana as femme chic off but significantly not on stage, and the heroine's death in the final pages of the novel — using them to chart Nana's enigmatic character and the multiple viewpoints from which she is seen by author, protagonists and critics alike. By structuring each section of the guide around one or two key scenes, Clark provides insightful close-readings which are valuable in their own right whilst also acting as both introduction to and focus for his detailed and instructive discussion of Nana's broader relevance to Zola's vision of Second Empire society. The concluding chapter is particularly notable for its discussion of Zola's own reactions to the text as articulated in the final Rougon-Macquart novel, Le Docteur Pascal. This is an aspect of Zola's writing which is rarely discussed in critical guides and yet which affords significant new insights into Zola's relationship with his heroine. Clark's detailed reading of Pascal's overview of the exploits of the Rougon-Macquart family throws up a number of inconsistencies in Zola's view of Nana which show how his understanding of heredity matured between 1880 and 1893 as well as indicating how his relationship with Jeanne Rozerot coloured his vision of women. One of the most appealing aspects of this guide, which sets it apart from other books of a similar format, is the way in which Clark combines a great deal of student-friendly information with a novel scholarly re-reading of the text. By suggesting that it is Muffat, rather than Nana herself, who is the principal victim of Zola's belief in determinist scientific thought, Clark effectively dethrones the Rougon-Macquart family, thus challenging received notions of the text and instead elaborating an argument which will interest confirmed zolistes without alienating students.