Experimental Novel

Experimental Novel Synopsis

The Experimental Novel (1880) is an essay by French author Emile Zola. Written at the height of his career as a leading proponent of Naturalism, The Experimental Novel serves to illuminate the author's approach to the practice and purpose of writing while advocating for a revolution of style among artists of his era. Read as a reaction against Romanticism, The Experimental Novel proves a convincing counterpoint to the excesses and failures of nineteenth century art, illustrating the need for literature to draw inspiration from other sources of human understanding-such as science, history, and the social sciences-in order to effectively explore the themes of everyday life. "e;The return to nature, the naturalistic evolution which marks the century, drives little by little all the manifestation of human intelligence into the same scientific path. Only the idea of a literature governed by science is doubtless a surprise, until explained with precision and understood. It seems to me necessary, then, to say briefly and to the point what I understand by the experimental novel."e; Rather than imitate reality, a writer must attempt a scientific investigation of the nature of everyday life. For Zola, plot must be secondary to character, and character must be subject to the laws and limitations of a particular society. As a writer interested in the relationships between rich and poor, citizen and state, culture and economy, and personal and public life, Zola found it necessary to write experimental fiction-literally, fiction which experiments with its object of inquiry. Blending science and art, he revolutionized not only the idea of what a novel is and can do, but the responsibility of the artist to society. The Experimental Novel is a masterful essay for readers interested in Zola's work and in the history and philosophy of literature. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Emile Zola's The Experimental Novel is a classic work of French literature reimagined for modern readers.