La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret
Encyclopedia
La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret (1875) is the fifth novel in Émile Zola
's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart
. Viciously anticlerical in tone, it follows on from the horrific events at the end of La Conquête de Plassans
, focussing this time on a remote Provençal
backwater village.
The plot centres on the neurotic young priest Serge Mouret, first seen in La Conquête de Plassans
, as he takes his orders and becomes the parish priest for the disinterested village of Artauds. The inbred villagers have no interest in religion and Serge is portrayed giving several wildly enthusiastic Masses to his completely empty, near-derelict church. Serge not only seems unperturbed by this state of affairs but actually appears to have positively sought it out especially, for it gives him time to contemplate religious affairs and to fully experience the fervour of his faith. Eventually he has a complete nervous breakdown and collapses into a near-comatose state, whereupon his distant relative, the unconventional doctor Pascal Rougon (the central character of the last novel in the series, 1893's Le Docteur Pascal), places him in the care of the inhabitants of a nearby derelict stately home, Le Paradou.
The novel then takes a complete new direction in terms of both tone and style, as Serge — suffering from amnesia
and total long-term memory loss, with no idea who or where he is beyond his first name — is doted upon by Albine, the whimsical, innocent and entirely uneducated girl who has been left to grow up practically alone and wild in the vast, sprawling, overgrown grounds of Le Paradou. The two of them live a life of idyllic bliss with many Biblical
parallels, and over the course of a number of months, they fall deeply in love with one another; however, at the moment they consummate their relationship, they are discovered by Serge's monstrous former monseignor and his memory is instantly returned to him. Wracked with guilt at his unwitting sins, Serge is plunged into a deeper religious fervour than ever before, and poor Albine is left bewildered at the loss of her soulmate. As with many of Zola's earlier works, the novel then builds to a horrible climax.
Unusually for Zola, the novel contains very few characters and locations, and the level of realist observation compared to outright fantasy is most uncharacteristic; however, the novel remains extraordinarily powerful and readable, and is considered one of Zola's most linguistically inventive and well-crafted works.
The novel was translated into English
by Vizetelly & Co. in the 1880s as Abbé Mouret's Transgression, but this text must be considered faulty by any student of literature due to its many omissions and bowdlerisations, as well as its rendering of Zola's language in one of his most technically complex novels into a prolix and flat style of Victorian
English bearing little resemblance to the original text. Two more faithful translations, certainly much more readable to modern students, emerged in the 1950s and 1960s under the titles The Sinful Priest and The Sin of Father Mouret. The novel inspired a now lost painting by John Collier
(1850-1934), exhibited in 1895 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, under the title "The death of Albine". The painting was reproduced in the weekly "The Graphic" on 31 August 1895 (example in the British Museum, London).
) (English
) La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret, audio version
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart
Les Rougon-Macquart
Les Rougon-Macquart is the collective title given to a cycle of twenty novels by French writer Émile Zola. Subtitled Histoire naturelle et sociale d'une famille sous le Second Empire , it follows the life of a fictional family living during the Second French Empire and is an example of French...
. Viciously anticlerical in tone, it follows on from the horrific events at the end of La Conquête de Plassans
La Conquête de Plassans
La Conquête de Plassans is the fourth novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. In many ways a sequel to the first novel in the cycle, La Fortune des Rougon , this novel is again centred on the fictional Provençal town of Plassans and its plot revolves around a sinister...
, focussing this time on a remote Provençal
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
backwater village.
The plot centres on the neurotic young priest Serge Mouret, first seen in La Conquête de Plassans
La Conquête de Plassans
La Conquête de Plassans is the fourth novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. In many ways a sequel to the first novel in the cycle, La Fortune des Rougon , this novel is again centred on the fictional Provençal town of Plassans and its plot revolves around a sinister...
, as he takes his orders and becomes the parish priest for the disinterested village of Artauds. The inbred villagers have no interest in religion and Serge is portrayed giving several wildly enthusiastic Masses to his completely empty, near-derelict church. Serge not only seems unperturbed by this state of affairs but actually appears to have positively sought it out especially, for it gives him time to contemplate religious affairs and to fully experience the fervour of his faith. Eventually he has a complete nervous breakdown and collapses into a near-comatose state, whereupon his distant relative, the unconventional doctor Pascal Rougon (the central character of the last novel in the series, 1893's Le Docteur Pascal), places him in the care of the inhabitants of a nearby derelict stately home, Le Paradou.
The novel then takes a complete new direction in terms of both tone and style, as Serge — suffering from amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
and total long-term memory loss, with no idea who or where he is beyond his first name — is doted upon by Albine, the whimsical, innocent and entirely uneducated girl who has been left to grow up practically alone and wild in the vast, sprawling, overgrown grounds of Le Paradou. The two of them live a life of idyllic bliss with many Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
parallels, and over the course of a number of months, they fall deeply in love with one another; however, at the moment they consummate their relationship, they are discovered by Serge's monstrous former monseignor and his memory is instantly returned to him. Wracked with guilt at his unwitting sins, Serge is plunged into a deeper religious fervour than ever before, and poor Albine is left bewildered at the loss of her soulmate. As with many of Zola's earlier works, the novel then builds to a horrible climax.
Unusually for Zola, the novel contains very few characters and locations, and the level of realist observation compared to outright fantasy is most uncharacteristic; however, the novel remains extraordinarily powerful and readable, and is considered one of Zola's most linguistically inventive and well-crafted works.
The novel was translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Vizetelly & Co. in the 1880s as Abbé Mouret's Transgression, but this text must be considered faulty by any student of literature due to its many omissions and bowdlerisations, as well as its rendering of Zola's language in one of his most technically complex novels into a prolix and flat style of Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
English bearing little resemblance to the original text. Two more faithful translations, certainly much more readable to modern students, emerged in the 1950s and 1960s under the titles The Sinful Priest and The Sin of Father Mouret. The novel inspired a now lost painting by John Collier
John Collier (artist)
The Honourable John Maler Collier OBE RP ROI , called 'Jack' by his family and friends, was a leading English artist, and an author. He painted in the Pre-Raphaelite style, and was one of the most prominent portrait painters of his generation. Both his marriages were to daughters of Thomas Henry...
(1850-1934), exhibited in 1895 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, under the title "The death of Albine". The painting was reproduced in the weekly "The Graphic" on 31 August 1895 (example in the British Museum, London).
External links
(FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret, audio version