During the
course of my teaching career I have stumbled upon French Literature in French and found it a highly desirable
inclusion in any syllabus!
In this instance, GERMINAL by Zola is an example of how a novel about working class values can still be relevant in today's Educational Programme!
Etienne the hero of the novel is still very much: THE LEFT WING CONSCIOUSNESS of today's
students! It has been dressed up to invent a modernity that stretches from one culture to another!
Its essential Frenchness doesn't detract from the popularity of this novel: In the
course of the last few years I have been invited to comment myself and write about Politics! Usually, I steer well clear of such
complexity as Political Leaders are for the most part POPULAR and then are dumped by the voters or beheaded or /gunned down/ in some instances.
There is
relevance here with what is currently happening in the world of Socialism: heads will fall, and all our Political Heroes have died in such tragic circumstances! A bit like an episode out of Zola's GERMINAL!
Perhaps the best part of the book: is the Political manoeuverings much played out in the novel!
La Politique le gouvernement
or what is often seen to mean /the wishes of the majority/ of course the rich get richer and the poor get poorer! In this novel the economical values are important to the story telling of French working class life! I see that it has relevance to the English Speaking World and while I read it many years ago I still enjoy picking it up and reading it, in /bits and pieces/
I have often been told that BARDOT is FRANCE! Presuably that is a metaphor! So where does
ZOLA stand! He then, could be said to be FRENCH!!
La Debacle - or the conflict continues even in 21st Century France! Long may we enjoy reading about it as it winds its way into our everyday lives.