Pot-Face

Pot-Face is a Romance of Emile Zola published in 1882, the tenth of the series Rougon-Macquart . The word pot-face indicated at the 19th century in language familiar the ordinary Cuisine of the households, wholesale synonym of cooking . But it is not question of kitchen here, if not with the illustrated direction: Zola wants indeed to show us the back of the decoration of a large Parisian building where, behind a luxury of frontage, live middle-class families whose daily behavior is as little ragoûtant as poor a brouet, a pot-face .

The intrigue

There is no strictly speaking intrigue in the novel, but rather a detailed visit of each apartment, emphasizing the meanness and the defects more or less hidden of each one. The hero, because there is nevertheless one of them, is Octave Mouret (already seen in the Conquest of Plassans ). It has 21 or 22 years (the book must normally start in 1861), and is very neat vestimentary level. It is placed at Campardon, spares of Provence to 3. He quickly becomes the enemy of Gasparine, “the other Mrs Campardon”. Coming from Marseilles, to have a situation in the great merchants, it has already revenues and money to be placed (it is very important for the continuation of the saga Rougon-Macquart). Campardon quickly finds an employment at Hédouin to him, With the Happiness of the Ladies . It is a small store which does not have really well-established. Octave, which sometimes happened with the firm idea to conquer the Parisian one, makes already its choice among the women of the corner…

Only, it is not the best which is presented. First of all, Octave wants to allure Valerie Vabre, the wife of Theophilus Vabre, the son of the owner. The problem, it is that it is rather excited: for proof, it is described of neurotic and hysterical. In short, it has odd glances and often goes to the church, but is not there to read the missal because her husband is impotent and it is necessary that she manages differently to have children. For Octave, it is a failure. Then, Marie Pichon, her neighbor, is bored a little during the day because her husband is not there. Then, Octave plays the librarians and lends to him novels of George Sand. Marie, very naive because of her education, has a little odd thanks which wake up the desire of Octave. At the end of the novel, Marie will have 3 children; one can think that Octave is the father of two of them.

And then, it there with the famous fore-mentioned Mrs Hédouin Caroline: beautiful, serious, correct, not excited or too naive like the others! Octave, which helps Mrs Hédouin more and more, benefits from a sale of Monday to try to allure it… The failure will be so much cooking, that Octave, ashamed, especially because he was seen by Gasparine, decides to leave the Happiness of the Ladies to go to settle at its neighbors, Berthe and Auguste Vabre.

It should be recalled that Berthe, born Josserand, ran really the husband, using postures learned by his mother, of laces bought by his father. The marriage with Auguste decided on a blow of head.

Then, Octave, allured by “the doubtful kitchen” of Berthe, decides to allure the Parisian one. And it succeeds! Except that resembles more prostitution than with a lovesong. It is necessary to pass by hats to hundred francs and shawls to three hundred francs - time - to arrive from there there. At the end, Octave wearies situation and realizes that it is a true booby-trap, especially when they are made take by the husband. Blow, it will have some more than enough women.

The history finishes on the marriage of Octave and Mrs Hédouin. Indeed, Mr Hédouin, patient, died, the father of Mrs Hédouin, Mr Deleuze is for a long time deceased, and his/her brother fails. Caroline realizes whereas it needs a man to carry out his business and proposes in Octave the marriage. This one is deafened and accepts without much enthusiasm.

One will find Octave later one year in With the Happiness of the Ladies, novel very centered on the Grand store. In this novel, finally, not only Octave changed after its escapades, but the store grew.

One knows very little of it about the family living with the 2° stage. They are hated of all because they " never make like everyone ". The only indication is the trade of the husband, surely writer. It publishes a book revealing the vexations of the influential men of Paris of which Mr. Duveyrier (the second owner) what still adds to hatred that the tenants carry to this family.

One of the families that Zola describes at greater length and with the most humor is that of Josserand, where the mother (Mrs Josserand, mother of Berthe Vabre) reign as a tyrant, terrorizing husband, girls and servants. Its single ambition: to marry his/her daughters, by finding for them good parties. For that, it involves them with “hunting for the husbands”, explaining to them why the love is secondary, the men being by nature fundamentally méprisables.

Characters

House of the street of Choiseul

  • Ground floor

    • Store of silk whose manager is Auguste Vabre.

  • Mezzanine

    • Auguste Vabre.

  • 1st stage

    • Theophilus Vabre, his wife Valerie (girl of Mr. and Mrs. Louhette) and their Camille son.
    • Alphonse Duveyrier, his wife Clotilde (girl of Mr. Vabre) and their Gustave son, 16 years. Also saw at Duveyrier the father of Clotilde, Mr. Vabre, owner of the building. Alphonse Duveyrier will become, with dead of Mr. Vabre, the new owner of the building.

  • 2nd stage

    • unknown Mister “which makes books”, his wife and her two children.
    • Later: Auguste Vabre with his wife Berthe (girl of Mr. and Mrs. Josserand) and her brother Saturnin Josserand.

  • 3rd stage

    • Mrs. Juzeur.
    • an unknown tenant.
    • Achilles Campardon, his wife Rose (girl of Mr. and Mrs. Domerge, and friend of Mr. and Mrs. Mouret) and their daughter Angele, 14 years. Later, Gasparine (the cousin of Rose and mistress of Achilles) settles with them.

  • 4th stage

    • Octave Mouret (wire of François Mouret and Marthe Rougon).
    • Jules Pichon, his wife Marie (girl of Mr. and Mrs. Vuillaume) and their Lilitte daughter.
    • Mr. Josserand and his wife Éléonore (girl of Bachelard) with three of their four children: Hortense, Berthe and Saturnin.

  • 5th stage

    • ???

  • 6th stage (the stage of the servants)

    • LISA and Victoire (servants at Campardon). Hippolyte, Clemence and Julie (servants at Duveyrier). Louise (domestic at Mrs. Juzeur). Adele (domestic at Josserand). Francoise (domestic in Theophilus and Valerie Vabre). Rachel (domestic at Auguste and Berthe Vabre).

Other characters

  • Narcisse Bachelard (brother of Éléonore Josserand);

  • Clarisse Bocquet (mistress of Mr. Duveyrier and a little everyone);
  • Mrs. Dambreville (mistress of Leon Josserand);
  • Mr. Gourd (caretaker of the house of the street of Choiseul) and his wife;
  • Gueulin (nephew of Narcisse Bachelard);
  • Caroline Hédouin (born Deleuze), married to Charles Hédouin, owners of the shop To the Happiness of the Ladies . After the death of her husband, she marries Octave Mouret;
  • Leon Josserand (wire of Mr. and Mrs. Josserand);
  • Dr. Juillerat;
  • the Mauduit Abbot;
  • Small Fanny, known as Fifi (mistress of Narcisse Bachelard and later, woman of Gueulin), alive in the sister of her father;
  • the Mother Peru (old woman employed and exploited by Mr. Gourd);
  • Raymonde (niece of Mrs. Dambreville, future wife of Leon Josserand);
  • Theodore, piano teacher and lover of Clarisse Bocquet;
  • Trublot;
  • Mr. Verdier (lover of Hortense Josserand).

More information: http://www.as.wvu.edu/mlastinger/pers.htm

Various adaptations

With the theater

1883: part of William Busnach.

With the cinema

See: Pot-Face of Julien Duvivier.

On television

1972: series in five episodes of Yves-Andre Hubert.

References

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