Genre
Fiction; French fiction
Setting and Context
Paris, in the eighteen hundreds, specifically in the more working class neighborhoods of the city.
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is third person, and the point of view is that of Gervaise.
Tone and Mood
At the start of the novel the tone and mood are both upbeat, optimistic and filled with joy. However this changes, and the tone becomes rather brutal and hopeless; the mood is melancholy and tragic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Gervaise is the protagonist; the men in her life are the antagonists.
Major Conflict
There is conflict between Gervaise and Coupeau particularly after he begins drinking, and becomes abusive.
Climax
Gervaise dies alone at home, with nobody realizing that she has passed.
Foreshadowing
Coupeau, previously a teetotaler, turns to alcohol after his accident. This decision foreshadows the unravelling of his life.
Understatement
No specific examples.
Allusions
Zola alludes to the real-life places in Paris that are somewhat of the dark underbelly of the city where the poor of the city reside.
Imagery
Zola describes the working class areas of Paris not just in a way that enables the reader to visually picture them, but in a way that also engages our hearing and our sense of smell as well. The descriptions are not flattering, and Zola describes an underbelly of the city populated by criminals, abusive husbands and young prostitues.
Paradox
Gervaise decides to swear off men because they are nothing but trouble, then changes her mind, because Coupeau seems to be wonderful and caring. but then turns out to literally be the death of her, indicating that she should have kept her vow that she made to herself, and sworn off men for good.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the disintegration of the couple's bond, and their lives and their increased alcohol consumption.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
