A Propos de l'Assommoir

The essay examines the fierce public controversy provoked by a prominent realist novelist’s depiction of poverty and vice, recounting denunciations of immorality and accusations of plagiarism. It offers a biographical sketch of the novelist, traces his evolution from bibliographic reviewer to serial novelist, and explains his adoption of scientific principles—notably heredity and deterministic observation—as the basis for a linked series of novels. The author defends the novelist’s artistic aims, critiques his detractors, and clarifies the philosophical and practical motives behind his narrative method.