Doctor Pascal

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Zola, with the Rougon Macquart under her arm, greets the statue of Balzac

Doctor Pascal ( French Le Docteur Pascal ) is a novel by the writer Émile Zola . It forms the twentieth and final volume of the Rougon-Macquart cycle . The first edition appeared in June 1893 by Charpentier. Central topics are Zola's genetic theory of inheritance and the tension between religion and science. The action begins in 1872. It is therefore the only novel that after the fall of Napoleon III. plays. The title character Dr. Pascal is the son of Pierre and Félicité Rougon, born in 1813, who are known to the reader from the first volume, Das Glück der Familie Rougon .

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Last Rougon-Macquart family tree for the Dr. Pascal from 1892

The physician Dr. Pascal has lived and practiced in the fictional city of Plassans for 30 years. He spent his life collecting material on members of his family, exemplifying the study of the laws of genetic inheritance, including inherited traits and diseases. Dr. Pascal has developed a serum that can cure nervous diseases and tuberculosis .

His beautiful niece Clotilde sees in Pascal's work a denial of God's omnipotence. She urges him to destroy the collected documents, which he refuses. He shows and explains Clotilde his family files. She recognizes the value of the documents. Clotilde and Pascal begin a love affair. This illegitimate relationship is met with the rejection of Pascal's mother Félicité. She also wishes to destroy the family files in order to keep the family honor pure.

When Clotilde's brother Maxime fell seriously ill with ataxia in Paris , he asked his sister to come and take care of him. Félicité supports this endeavor to remove Clotilde and thus more easily find a way to destroy the papers. The banker to whom Pascal has entrusted his savings flees with the money. Since the doctor is now almost destitute and wants to spare Clotilde a life in poverty, he gets her to comply with her brother's wish. Later, a larger sum for Pascal can be saved from the bankruptcy estate.

At this point he is already seriously ill. From a letter from his niece he learns that she is expecting a child from him. He calls her back, but dies shortly before she arrives. While Clotilde falls asleep on her deathbed, Félicité and Pascal's servant Martine throw Pascal's family documentation and other works into the fire, thereby destroying all of his scientific work. A few months later, Clotilde gave birth to a healthy son. The baby clothes are stored in the closet where the papers were previously.

In passing, the reader learns about the fate of other family members.

  • Adelaïde's eldest son and husband Félicités, Pierre Rougon, burns to death two days before his mother's death.
  • Charles, Maxime's illegitimate son, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage during a visit to Aunt Dide the day before her death.
  • Adelaïde Fouque, known as Aunt Dide, dies at the age of 105 after spending 21 years in a mental asylum.
  • Eugène Rougon , Pascal's older brother, is again a member of parliament and is defending the fallen emperor.
  • Aristide Saccard, Pascal's younger brother, after the novel The money mentioned collapse of the Universal Bank of Belgium gone into exile. After an amnesty he returned to France . During the plot period he is the editor of a major newspaper and is working on a new career.
  • Victor, the illegitimate son of Aristides, has disappeared.
  • Sidonie Rougon, Pascal's sister, got some money after a long period of poverty. She finances a home for single mothers.
  • Octave Mouret, owner of the Ladies' Paradise Department store , and his wife, former saleswoman Denise, have two children: a sickly daughter and a healthy and strong son.
  • Serge Mouret, known from The Sin of the Abbé Mouret , lives with his sister Desireé in religious seclusion. At the end of the tape, his death is imminent.
  • Hélène Mouret and her husband Rambaud from the novel Ein Blatt Liebe live childless in Marseille .
  • Pauline Quenu from the novel The Joy of Life still lives in Bonneville, where she raises Lazare's son Paul. Your uncle Chanteau has since died. Lazare emigrated to America , widowed .
  • Étienne Lantier from the novel Germinal was sentenced to exile in New Caledonia because of his participation in the Paris Commune . There he married according to unconfirmed information and had a daughter.
  • Jean Macquart, protagonist in the novels The Earth and The Collapse , got married. He lives in a town not far from Plassans. He and his wife have two healthy and lively children. At the end of the tape they are expecting a third child.

The plot closes with the hope that a healthy branch of the family will emerge with the newborn children.

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