tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post3493327158791604125..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: the queen of first-class tarts - Nana triumphsAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-61725667873570740412016-04-11T14:29:31.545-05:002016-04-11T14:29:31.545-05:00Right, I need the labels once I get interested in ...Right, I need the labels once I get interested in literary history. Whatever helps organize the chaos.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-90830829322260447762016-04-11T14:03:59.893-05:002016-04-11T14:03:59.893-05:00The whole Naturalism and Realism labels (or any ot...The whole Naturalism and Realism labels (or any other labels) tend to be arbitrary, after-the-fact categories that can lead readers to make judgments based on labels' criteria. Sometimes a good (or bad) novel is simply a good (or bad) novel; perhaps labels ought to be avoided. Even as I say that, I know that I am guilty of trying to fit authors' works into labelled categories; that is a danger of reading too much theory, criticism, and history rather than simply reading. Of course, what the hell do I know?RTDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17113953356514605424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-34523638567189951552016-04-10T14:15:19.059-05:002016-04-10T14:15:19.059-05:00Nana inherits her mother's sensuality, includi...Nana inherits her mother's sensuality, including her sensitivity to colors and scents. It's a nice link back to <i>L'Assommoir</i>. <br /><br />My view of the "science" of Naturalism is the same as Zola's, at least <a href="http://wutheringexpectations.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-certain-taste-for-charlatanism.html" rel="nofollow">as reported by Goncourt</a>: "charlatanism."<br /><br />"Academic"! Very funny, Karen. The only chapter I actively dislike was Ch. 13, the one where Nana has fully becoming a deity or symbol. The narrator is at his most bizarre. I think I'll write one more post on that chapter.<br /><br />"moralize in a different way" - yes, I am finally figuring that out about Oscar Wilde, too. I had mistaken him quite badly, taking him at his word.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-54333232632759848852016-04-10T09:52:17.800-05:002016-04-10T09:52:17.800-05:00"When evil does not come to a bad end in a Zo..."When evil does not come to a bad end in a Zola novel, it is just as much for romantic, moralistic reasons." Yes. It's often struck me that various schools and proponents of naturalism don't so much abandon the moralistic as moralize in a different way. Is it even possible to maintain the barest causal unity of plot—even say the plot of gestural logic in a Kafka short story—without some kind of moralizing? <br /><br />Anyway, lovely notes as always, amateur reader.Robert Mintohttp://www.robertminto.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-89930785250213779892016-04-10T09:49:57.174-05:002016-04-10T09:49:57.174-05:00The chapter with the horse race was by far the bes...The chapter with the horse race was by far the best chapter of Nana, for me -- it's the only Zola novel I've truly disliked, and that was the only chapter I enjoyed. Of course I didn't pick up on any of the metaphors, but then, I'm hardly an academic reader. I need to give Zola another try, I've been ignoring him far too long. Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-63662138301867365032016-04-10T04:27:33.791-05:002016-04-10T04:27:33.791-05:00Enjoyed your review!
The only 'scientific elem...Enjoyed your review!<br />The only 'scientific elememt I could find was Zola's <br />desire to observe Nana's 'animal sensualitiy'.<br />( pg 56) A wave of lust flowed from her, as from an animal in heat. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-39248710266034273422016-04-09T12:13:51.112-05:002016-04-09T12:13:51.112-05:00tx, fred and tom; that clarifies a bit. maybe i&...tx, fred and tom; that clarifies a bit. maybe i'll give it a try...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-73248523938418358092016-04-09T10:09:13.135-05:002016-04-09T10:09:13.135-05:00Yes, lots of fireworks, lots of explosions, each b...Yes, lots of fireworks, lots of explosions, each big scene with its own fireworks and explosions. The novel ends with the conquest of France by the Prussians, which does not strike me as ho hum, but all too exciting, to the point of being a little ridiculous. A lot of weight to put on poor Nana.<br /><br />Luckily Zola's "Naturalism," the idea that what he is doing has something to do with science, is completely abandoned in <i>Nana</i>. The look back at Nana's family life, the characters in <i>L'Assommoir</i>, is poignant and not presented as "evidence" beyond Nana's psychology.<br /><br />Zola is 100% a romantic at heart. When evil does not come to a bad end in a Zola novel, it is just as much for romantic, moralistic reasons.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-19016833590431813812016-04-09T08:45:24.830-05:002016-04-09T08:45:24.830-05:00Mudpuddle,
It was Hannah Arendt who subtitled her...Mudpuddle,<br /><br />It was Hannah Arendt who subtitled her book on Eichmann's trial in Jerusalem, "The Banality of Evil." It appears as though Zola got it right, but the banality is in Nana's and the other characters' actions and not in Zola's depiction. <br /><br />Zola may be classified as a "realist" or a "naturalist" writer--not really got straight on the differences here--but he's really a romantic at heart, for evil always comes to a bad end, or so it appears to me. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-17970163504982035642016-04-08T23:19:41.365-05:002016-04-08T23:19:41.365-05:00i've never read zola; but, to tell the truth,...i've never read zola; but, to tell the truth, this description helps me realize why not. it's sort of like fireworks, lots of bangs(no pun intended) and lights, but the end result is sort of hohum. is it me, am i just missing something...? i never thought about my literary taste in this way; maybe i'm too old and it's difficult to find new, interesting tomes... or maybe i'm tired... quien sabe, as tonto said to mr. ranger...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.com