Explosive Narratives: Terrorism and Anarchy in the Works of Emile Zola.

199 Pages·2010·3.33 MB·English

by  Eduardo A. Febles

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FAUX TITRE
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Explosive Narratives
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a. Illustration cover: Emile Henry, Cafe Terminus Paris, 12 February, 1894.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments 7
Introduction: Anarchy, Entropy, Naturalism 9
Anarchy 22
Entropy 25
Naturalism 28
Chapter 1
Souvarine's Vanishing Act:
33
The Effacement of Anarchy in Germinal
The Ambiguous Politics aJGerminal 36
The Resurgence ojA narchyf rom the Underground Mine 45
Undermining Narratives: The Sub-text oj Anarchy 55
Chapter 2
Anarchy as Narrative Capital:
The Emplotment of Terrorism in Paris 65
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s Towards Utopia: Taking the Bire Dllt afAnarchy 96
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Acknowledgments
The process of writing hook C(ln be comp<lren to an anllfchic
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commune. In the true spirit of mutual aid, I have been fortunate
enough to receive constant help throughout the many stages of this
project.
Though anarchy refuses the search for origins, the topic for this
book was nevertheless born very specifically during a seminar on
modernism led by Professor Robert Scholes at Brown University,
where completed my graduate work. My formative years in that
1
institution were indelibly marked by the finest scholars who were
always supportive and my colleagues who inspired me to perfonn at
my very best Thanks to all the Professors at Rochambeau House on
Prospect Street and especially to Edward Ahearn who was my director
and mentor: his keen insight into the problem of literature and politics
has shaped my own thoughts in the matter. Furthermore, his caring
approach to teaching and pedagogy remains with me to this day. I also
want to express a nostalgic salute to the many special moments shared
a. with Deborah Hahn and Jacinta Wright.
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e My years at Simmons College have been the most productive pro­
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s of cultivate their interests with such freedom and in an atmosphere of
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he leagues in the Department of Modem Languages and Literatures:
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rc sor Louise Cohen, Professor Deborah Fraioli, Professor Raquel Halty,
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ris &p utopian fantasy without ever losing her grounding in reality. Thank
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s : 042 I also want to thank Professors Anthony S. Zielonka and Dean de
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Febles, Amsterd http://sit
8 Explosive Narratives
My parents and family provided me with the strength to
accomplish my goals. My parents are the fountain of my thirst for
knowledge and I thank them for instilling in me the curiosity that has
driven all of my endeavors.
dedicate this book to Steven Ransom who has helped me to
I
manage the entropy in my life. love you.
1
This project was supported in part by a grant from the Simmons
College Fund for Research. I wish to thank Mme Danielle Coussot
who allowed me to use the wonderful resources of the Centre Zola in
Paris, and Mme Michele Sacquin, Chief Curator of the manuscripts
department at the Richelieu branch of the Bibliotheque Nationale de
France for permitting me to consult the original notebooks for Travail.
Parts of Chapter 2 were first published as an article under the title
"Souvarine's Vanishing Act: The Effacement of Anarchy in Zola's
Germillaf' in Excavatio, XXI, nos 1-2 (2006): 184-197. Material from
the article is reproduced with permission of Dr. Anna Gural-Migdal,
Editor of Excavatio.
Parts of Chapter 3 were first published as an article under the title
"The Anarchic Commune as World's Fair in Zola's Travail" in
Nineteenth Century French Studies, volume 36, nos 3 & 4 (Spring­
Summer 2008): 286-304. Material from the article is reproduced with
pem1ission of the publisher, the University of Nebraska Press.
Parts of the Epilogue appeared as a book review of Frigerio,
a.
ol Vittorio, ed. Emile 20la au pays de l'al1archie. Grenoble, ELLUG
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e [Editions litteraires et linguistiques de l'Universite de Grenoble], 2006
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s 3 & 4 (Spring-Summer 2008): 368-369. Material from the review is
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hy i I am also indebted to the team of editors at Rodopi Press and the
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ar Faux Titre Series for their gracious assistance, especially to Professor
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Eduardo A. (Author). Explosive Narrative am, NLD: Editions Rodopi, 2010. p 8. e.ebrary.com/lib/dominicanuc/Doc?id=1
Febles, Amsterd http://sit
Introduction
Anarchy, Entropy, Naturalism
Throughout recent history, the ghost of terrorism has haunted
modern democracies. At times, it appeared under the guise of a die­
hard Communist; at others, it donned a gray-hooded sweatshirt,
camouflaged its stare behind large sunglasses, and was named the
Unabomber. In its latest manifestation, it is a religious fanatic and
comes from the Middle East. In Belle Epoque France, it was a bomb­
throwing anarchist. The changing image of the terrorist underscores
the very fact that it is historically grounded. Yet, even to advance the
seemingly innocuous thesis that terrorism is socially constructed can
backfire because public authorities try to present the phenomenon as
an essential category by appealing to values of good and evil.
Constructionist theories do not erase the reality of terrorism but rather
analyze its structural function within a society through a study of
a. competing ideologies as inscribed within discursive practices, from
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