Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

El naturalismo literario francés: una mirada sobre la doctrina de Zola desde España

Altenberg, Tilmann ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6686-6550 2014. El naturalismo literario francés: una mirada sobre la doctrina de Zola desde España. New Readings 14 , pp. 64-83. 10.18573/newreadings.99

[thumbnail of 129-570-1-PB.pdf]
Preview
PDF - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (127kB) | Preview

Abstract

The study examines the literary programme of Émile Zola, drawing primarily on the French author's critical, theoretical and programmatic essays published under the title Le Roman expérimental in 1880. In doing so, the article explores in detail the reasoning behind Zola's proposal to bring literature into line with science, discussing the author's main sources of inspiration and primary targets. The article argues that although within the mimetic theory of artistic representation Zola's concept of the roman expérimental advocates a hypermimeticism (S. Halliway), literary naturalism, as conceived by its founding father, does not propose to indiscriminately reproduce reality in its full complexity, but aspires to a synthetic and coherent vision of a specific sector of society with the aim of identifying the factors that determine the social phenomenon under investigation. Here, the success of a writer depends largely on his perceptiveness at the point of setting up the experiment alias novel. A close look at Zola’s essays further reveals that, contrary to the accusations raised by many of his contemporaries, Zola did not subscribe to a fatalistic worldview; rather, the naturalist doctrine displays a profound optimism with regard to the possibility of bringing about social change.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Modern Languages
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism
P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0441 Literary History
P Language and Literature > PQ Romance literatures
Language other than English: Spanish
Publisher: Cardiff University Press
ISSN: 1359-7485
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 30 March 2016
Last Modified: 02 May 2023 14:46
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/76657

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics