Earth: Analysis of Setting
"Earth: Analysis of Setting" provides an in-depth exploration of the geographical and social landscapes portrayed in Émile Zola's novel set in the Beauce region of France. The narrative focuses on the flat plains of La Beauce, known for their agricultural significance and characterized by a stark simplicity in village life. Central to the story is the village of Rognes, modeled after Romilly-sur-Aigre, which is depicted as sparse and isolated, with a church tower dominating its skyline and a prevailing sense of bleakness. In contrast to the rural settings, Chartres is introduced as a vibrant town, renowned for its medieval cathedral and a stark reminder of urban sophistication that some characters long for.
The text also highlights the role of the nearby L'Aigre river, which divides the Beauce from the Perche region, emphasizing the rich agricultural activities during harvest season. The Perche region is noted for its pastoral landscapes, supporting animal grazing instead of crop cultivation, which further delineates the differences between the two areas. Through these settings, Zola juxtaposes the monotony of peasant life with moments of joy, such as the harvest festivities. Overall, the analysis highlights how the physical environment shapes the experiences and social dynamics of the characters within the narrative.
Earth: Analysis of Setting
First published:La Terre, 1887 (English translation, 1888)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Naturalism
Time of work: 1860’s
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
*La Beauce
*La Beauce (lah bohz). Extensive flat plains of central France that have historically been the country’s bread basket. The finery and wealth of its main cities, especially Chartres, Châteaudun, and Orléans, which Zola describes only occasionally, are based on a higher level of commerce, which entails a variety of associated professionals, such as lawyers and notaries. This novel reflects a different reality, one of extreme simplicity in village life and family relations that make Chartres seem distant.
Zola underlines the monotony of the Beauce plains by describing the main (indeed only) road connecting Châteaudun and Orléans as straight and flat, visible at a distance only because of its neighboring line of telegraph poles. Villages are “islands of stone,” whose only identifying marks emerging out of the wheat fields are church steeples. A few windmills, clearly important for agricultural work at harvest time, break the monotony of the flat horizon, but remain practically immobile most of the year.
Rognes
Rognes (rohn). Beauce village that is the primary setting for this story of peasant family life and labors. Zola modeled Rognes on the real village of Romilly-sur-Aigre, located four kilometers east of the larger town of Cloyes. The area surrounding Rognes does not offer the same guarantees of soil fertility found in the heartland of the Beauce region. Inferior fertility earns it a separate designation in the popular mind as the “lice-ridden” Beauce.
Zola portrays Rognes itself in terms that suggest sparseness. From the distance, only a few peaks of houses appear at the base of the village church, whose gray stone clock tower provides shelter for several “families of very old crows,” a hint that the village has little attraction for younger inhabitants. A notable exception to this bleakness occurs in the early fall when, during the harvest season, the whole village reeks of grapes, and a week of gaiety and open drunkenness accompanies the opening of the previous year’s new wine. Here images of Dutch Renaissance paintings of peasant debauchery are clearly meant to reappear in the fields around Rognes.
*L’Aigre
*L’Aigre (laygr). Small river that runs through Rognes, carving out a narrow valley that forms a dividing line between the distinct regions of the Perche and the plains of the Beauce. Away from the village, the fields on both sides of the river offer Zola many scenes of peasant activities, especially in the season of the grain harvest, when the wheat crop resembles a yellow moving sea, upon which the ribbon of the Aigre seems to float.
*Chartres
*Chartres (shart). Town that is the site of one of France’s most famous medieval cathedrals, located on the majestic Eure River. Chartres stands in stark contrast to the villages depicted in the novel. Some lesser figures in the village setting, such as Madame Charles, find themselves transplanted from Chartres to the countryside as a consequence of marriage. Madame Charles seeks any opportunity she can find to revisit the quaint Chartres streets of her youth, with their memories of sophisticated facades, mahogany furnishings in mirrored salons, and hints of the perfumed atmosphere of city life.
*Le Perche
*Le Perche (leh persh). Pastoral region north of the Beauce. Although adjacent to the plains of the Beauce, the soils of the Perche are quite different. The cereal crops that have always guaranteed the prosperity of regional cities like Chartres give way to rich pasture lands ideal for animal grazing. As a result, the very appearance of villages in the Perche is distinct, surrounded by groupings of highly valued horses whose name, “percherons,” recalls their native fields.
Bazoches-le-Doyen
Bazoches-le-Doyen (bah-ZOSH-leh-dwa-YAN). First village on the side of Rognes opening to the plains of the Beauce. Although most of the novel’s activity focuses on Rognes, some images of the even smaller Bazoches appear because the one and only “main” intersection of roads in Rognes leads to Bazoches. Zola combined elements of two neighboring real villages’ names, Bazoches-en-Dunois and Ouzouer-le-Doyen, to create the name of this fictive hamlet.
Bibliography
Grant, Elliott M. Émile Zola. New York: Twayne, 1966. Includes an extensive discussion of Earth and concludes that the central concept of the novel concerns the cycle of birth, growth, decay, death, and rebirth. Also includes poetic descriptions of La Beauce and informative discussions of dramatic action, subthemes, comedy, character, religion, and politics in the novel.
Hemmings, F. W. J. Émile Zola. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1966. Intelligent discussion and criticism of Zola’s life and works. Sees Earth as Zola’s novel of Nature, with its emphasis on French peasants’ passionate and erotic love for the earth. Concludes that the character Buteau is transported to madness by this lust for the soil.
Knapp, Bettina L. Émile Zola. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1980. Handbook-style summaries and analysis of the Rougon-Macquart cycle. Describes the purpose of Earth as a depiction of the reality of the life of French peasantry. Zola contrasts love of the soil with avarice, possessiveness, immorality, and cruelty. Knapp also discusses the outraged public and critical reaction to the novel.
Turnell, Martin. The Art of French Fiction. New York: New Directions, 1960. Contains a long, informative chapter on Zola. Discusses naturalism and themes of the Rougon-Macquart cycle. Also includes an analysis of Earth’s fertility imagery.
Wilson, Angus. Émile Zola: An Introductory Study of His Novels. New York: William Morrow, 1952. A comprehensive examination of Zola’s life, principles, influences, and themes. Wilson finds Earth the most complete of Zola’s novels, bringing together strands of emotions and methods of expression from individual novels in the Rougon-Macquart series.