Rambaud. Jeanne had inherited much of the family neurosis, along with
a consumptive tendency derived from her father, and one of her sudden
illnesses caused her mother to make the acquaintance of Doctor Deberle.
An intimacy between the two families followed, which ripened into love
between the doctor and Helene. Events were precipitated by an attempt
on the part of Helene to save Madame Deberle from the consequences of
an indiscretion in arranging an assignation with M. Malignon, with the
result that she was herself seriously compromised in the eyes of Doctor
Deberle and for the first and only time fell from virtue. Jeanne, whose
jealous affection for her mother amounted to mania, was so affected by
the belief that she was not longer the sole object of her mother's love
that she became dangerously ill and died soon afterwards. This bitter
punishment for her brief lapse killed Helene's love for Doctor Deberle,
and two years later she married M. Rambaud. As Mr. Andrew Lang has
observed, Helene was a good and pure woman, upon whom the fate of her
family fell.
In writing the book Zola announced that his intention was to make all
Paris weep, and there is no doubt that, though a study in realism, it
contains much that is truly pathetic.
Pages:
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69