Quotes About Émile Zola

Metaphysical man is dead; our whole field of enquiry is transformed by physiological man.

She was a virgin and a warrior, disdainful of the male, which was what eventually convinced people that she really must be off her head.

In January 1898 Zola took an important part in the defense of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jew unjustly accused of selling military secrets to Germany.

so full of life and activity, was the sky-line of that accursed city, lurid and spattered with blood (93)

It was a house of shadows, where the sunshine was filtered down to a guttering night-light strength between the laths of the window-shutters. (89)

Ses peintures sont blondes et lumineuses, d'une pâleur solide. La lumière tombe blanche et large, éclairant les objets d'une façon douce

It is a crime to mislead public opinion, to utilize for a deadly task this opinion which has been perverted until it becomes delirious.

LA FAUTE DE L'ABBE MOURET' was, with respect to the date of publication, the fourth volume of M. Zola's 'Rougon-Macquart' series; but in the amended and final scheme of that great literary undertaking, it occupies the ninth place.

The Russians had a great taste for her, owing to her embonpoint.

to uncover the true workings of human society from beneath the aesthetic surface under observation. (xiii)

his eyes burning with the unspeakable torture of his impotence. His hands had refused once more to produce anything clear or lifelike (45)

The fate of animals is of far greater importance to me than the fear of appearing ridiculous.

I'm a huge Emile Zola fan, and when Bill Gallagher said he was writing a new character for 'The Paradise' and had me in mind for the role, I knew I wanted to play Tom Weston before I'd even read a word of the script.

Perfection is such a nuisance that I often regret having cured myself of using tobacco.

I translated an Emile Zola book, 'The Belly of Paris,' because I didn't find an existing translation that captured his sense of humor. Humor is the first victim of translation.