Le Vœu d'une morte

by Émile Zola

The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Publisher: Greening; Publication date: 1902; Subjects: Fiction / General; Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary; Literary Criticism / European / French;

Genres: Classics, France, Fiction

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Émile Zola was a prominent French novelist, journalist, and playwright widely regarded as a key figure in the development of literary naturalism. His work profoundly influenced both literature and society through its commitment to depicting reality with scientific objectivity and exploring the impact of environment and heredity on human behavior. Born and raised in France, Zola experienced early personal hardship following the death of his father, which deeply affected his understanding of social and economic struggles—a theme that would later permeate his writings.
Zola began his literary career working as a clerk for a publishing house, where he developed his skills and cultivated a passion for literature. His early novels, such as Thérèse Raquin, gained recognition for their intense psychological insight and frank depiction of human desires and moral conflicts. However, it was his monumental twenty-volume series, Les Rougon-Macquart, that established his lasting reputation. This cycle of novels offered a sweeping examination of life under the Second French Empire, portraying the lives of a family across generations and illustrating how hereditary traits and social conditions shape individuals’ destinies. The series embodies the naturalist commitment to exploring human behavior through a lens informed by emerging scientific thought.
Beyond his literary achievements, Zola was a committed social and political activist. His involvement in the Dreyfus Affair is one of the most notable examples of his dedication to justice. When Captain Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully accused and convicted of treason, Zola published his famous open letter, J’Accuse…!, which condemned the French military and government for corruption and anti-Semitism. This act of courage led to his prosecution and temporary exile but played a crucial role in eventual justice for Dreyfus and exposed deep divisions in French society.
Zola’s personal life was marked by both stability and complexity. He married Éléonore-Alexandrine Meley, who managed much of his household affairs, and later had a long-term relationship with Jeanne Rozerot, with whom he fathered two children. Throughout his life, Zola remained an incredibly prolific writer, producing not only novels but also essays, plays, and critical works that investigated the intersections between literature, science, and society.
His legacy continues to resonate for its profound impact on literature and for his fearless commitment to social justice. Zola’s work remains essential reading for its rich narrative detail, social critique, and pioneering approach to the realistic portrayal of human life. His role in the Dreyfus Affair stands as a powerful example of the intellectual’s responsibility to speak truth to power.

Reviews

[Mădă]

Cea mai bună carte!
O încântătoare operă (de artă), aș putea spune chiar o capodoperă în ceea ce privește punerea în lumină a iubirii sincere și a sacrificiului suprem născut din această dragoste, precum și simțul datoriei acut care se regăsește în fiecare pagină a cărții și te dezarmează pur și simplu, cu cât evenimentele avansează.
Anii trec, datoria rămâne. Dar datoria nu se simte ca fiind grea, chiar dacă ajunge să pricinuiască durere ci, mai mult, ea ajunge, o dată cu trecerea anilor, să completeze acele sentimente firești, aproape părintești, de a iubi si de a proteja o ființă. Promisiunea făcută mamei de un tânăr lipsit de experiența vieții, neștiutor, care se adâncise în studiu pentru că ura societății se îndreptase împotriva lui, el, orfanul, își găsise astfel drumul în viață. Primise să facă sacrificiul suprem încă de la primele pagini, iar el urmărise să onoreze acea promisiune sfântă, chiar dacă, din acel moment, cred că destinul i-a fost pecetluit. A salvat-o pe fiică care ar fi putut muri asemenea mamei sale, dar s-a sacrificat pe sine însuși pentru fericirea iubirii sale.
Emile Zola realizează o operă a cărui personaje par să facă parte din altă lume, dar ale căror destine se întrepătrund. Fericirea lui Daniel, din punct de vedere individual, care ar fi putut fi reprezentată de iubirea împărtășită venită din partea Jeanei, s-a transformat într-o altă iubire, de rang platonic, frățesc, care s-a văzut prin îndeplinirea datoriei, adică "să o căsătorească cu un bărbat bun, să o protejeze ca un tată, frate, mamă".
Inițial, am crezut că pe patul de moarte, Blanche de Rionne îi făgăduise de fapt mâna fiicei sale lui Daniel, iar deznodământul va fi totodată o completare a incipitului.
Schimbările ce au survenit pe parcurs, care, au fost mai degrabă determinate de deciziile lui Daniel de a îi căuta Jeanei un soț iubitor care să preia frâiele pasiunii sale și să o protejeze, au modificat total opera. Zola realizează în acest fel o poveste care poate să aibă mai multe sfârșituri, în funcție de deciziile personajelor. Georges era dispus să renunțe la Jeanne, el, cel mai bun prieten al lui Daniel care se îndrăgostise de ea tocmai din cauza acelor conversații pe care Daniel refuza să le aibă cu fata. Până în ultima clipă, Georges era dispus să facă același sacrificiu, doar că nu a mai apucat, iar ceea ce este interesant este faptul că finalul, unul dureros de altfel, s-a dovedit a demonstra cine este de fapt protagonistul operei, precum și faptul că, oricare alegere ar fi făcut-o Daniel, ar fi fost una corectă, dar în același timp ar fi avut repercursiuni pe termen lung întrucât Jeanne l-ar fi putut iubi pe Daniel cel mult ca pe un frate, nu ca pe un amant, în timp ce din partea lui Daniel,iubirea acestuia ar fi fost sinceră și de lungă durată. Daniel o venerase pe Blanche, iar la momentul morții sale, aceasta îi vorbește, ceea ce denotă că dragostea lui pentru sfânta care îl adoptase se răsfrânsese asupra fiicei după moartea mamei.
Daniel, prin moarte, de fapt își îndeplinește destinul, și anume acela de a fi alături de persoana care îi fusese de fapt hărăzită și îndeplinind misiunea cu care fusese încredințat pe pământ, adică să unească două suflete Jeanne -Georges, în oglindă a cuplului divin Blanche-Daniel.

[Calzean]

A story where there is a bookend of tragic deaths. At the start a young wife dies and gives her adopted son Daniel, a life long mission to guard her daughter. At the end Daniel dies also a death of despair but final hopefulness. In the middle there are a series of character studies that painted those with money as having few morals and those with no money with plenty of morals.

[BAM IS BACK!]

Catching up with the classics # 16

[Simona]

Another of Zola's sperimental novels. A quite enjoyable read, well written and very simple to follow.

This is a story of perpetual... friendzone. No, even worse: "I
consider you as a brother"!

On her death-bed, a mother asks her eighteen-years-old protegèe to take care of her daughter. Years pass, things happen (Daniel aka protegèe basically cannot be a present figure for Jeanne because she is sent to a convent, but he still thinks about her) - twelve years later Daniel throws a good paying job out of the window to accept another one to be near Jeanne. He falls in love with her. She... doesn't. She marries a douche.
Don't know if that's actually a spoiler, but we are going to play it safe: he - the husband, that is - eventually dies.
Daniel writes her love letters, but she mistakenly believes them to be written by someone else, and obviously she somehow "falls in love" with this someone else. Until she discovers the truth.
Then, when the end nears, this happens: "Forgive me,” murmured Jeanne, in the midst of her sobs; “I have been ignorant and cruel."
"But you cannot die thus, for I love you — I love you!” madly cried the young woman".
Because, you know, when we lie dying, everybody suddenly remembers/ that they love us! It's something along the line when you are at a funeral and you hear people murmuring "oh, he was such a nice person!", "so lovable and easy going", and stuff like that about the deceased, but you know exactly they a) hated his guts; b) did'n even know him;

That's exactly what I felt was happening here.

So, something very realistic - and that's what I am learning to love of Zola's novels.

[Freya Gordon]

Hardgoing story of life-ruining obsession where the protagonist thinks he's the hero. Much better if you read it as a dark comedy - like a 19th century American Psycho - rather than the romantic tragedy people seem to be reading it as.

Daniel spends his entire life obsessing over Jeanne and his promise to her dying mother and she never knows it - until the end (assuming that wasn't some dying hallucination) and his obsession doesn't really change anything for her. He's not around for her childhood in the convent, she has no idea he exists until she's 18 and then he's just the weird secretary who dresses in all black and scowls at her anytime she's having fun. She still marries Lorin - Daniel's presence does nothing to change that. She's still widowed - Daniel's existence is completely irrelevant. She's falling in love with George even without Daniel's letters - and George has fallen in love with her at first sight anyway. So what did Daniel achieve? He wasted his entire life thinking he was living for her and fulfilling her mother's wish but all he does is moon about in the background of her life for a couple years completely pointlessly.

[Janelle]

I really enjoyed this short early novel of Zola’s. A simple story, not as skilfully told as later novels buts still some great moments. Especially the scene where Daniel listens to banal drawing room conversations!

[Katherine Holmes]

An early work of Zola's. A young man who is not a real hero or a romantic interest would not seem to keep a person reading but his characterization with the innocent and even ignorant obsession to keep a promise hypnotizes.

[David Cain]

Truly lovely, well structured, Zola!

[Trounin]

Став известным благодаря тяге к натурализму, первые литературные опыты Золя — чистый романтизм. Эмиль примерял на себя различные обстоятельства и пытался их представить несколько оторванными от реальности. Чем «Завет умершей» не вольная фантазия наподобие историй с печальным началом и благоприятным завершением? Есть одно исключение — автором произведения является Золя, а значит кому-то предстоит умереть в завершающих главах.

(c) Trounin