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The Drunkard
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The Drunkard by Zola April BOTM
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Thanks Kristel! I'll post some reading questions tomorrow.
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Oh, I forgot that you were doing this, I will erase the questions that I threw together.
Kristel wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Thanks Kristel! I'll post some reading questions tomorrow."Oh, I forgot that you were doing this, I will erase the questions that I threw together."
Oh don't do that, the more the merrier!
Mod
Oh, I forgot that you were doing this, I will erase the questions that I threw together."
Oh don't do tha..."
I am going to send them by personal mail and if you want to use the ideas, feel free.
I will be finished with my reading of The Drunkard in a couple more days. I think a more literal translation of the French title "L'Assommoir" would be "The Tavern". The story isn't really about one drunkard but really about the toll that heavy drinking takes on society, including spouses and children. For example, in the later part of the story Gervaise has a neighbor who gets drunk daily and beats his wife and daughter. I've read one other Zola novel, Germinal, which I read two years ago. It wasn't quite as dark as this one. I'm not reading Nana at this time. If I read another Zola novel in near-future it will likely be La Bête humaine.
I have listened to an excellent Audible version and just finished it today, so will proceed to Nana until questions are posted.
This is optional but might be fun. This site http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-la... has some multiple choice "test" questions about The Drunkard. I'll post just the first five of 25 here, you can follow the link for the rest if you like.1With whom does Gervaise sleep in order to escape her drunk, vomit covered husband? (from Chapter 8)
Poisson
Goujet
Lantier
None of the above
2. At what setting does the majority of the seventh chapter occur? (from Chapter 7)
Père Colombe's Assommoir
In the theater
Moulin d'Argent.
The dinner table, set up in Gervaise's shop
3. What floor is the Coupeaus' new apartment on? (from Chapter 10)
Third
Sixth
Eighth
First
4. With whom goes Gervaise fight in the wash house? (from Chapter 1)
A drunkard
Coupeau
Virginie, Adèle's sister
The manager
5.
Where does Coupeau first try to court Gervaise? (from Chapter 2)
In the Hôtel Bancœur
On the street
Père Colombe's Assommoir
In her laundry shop
Ha fun thanks George! I thought I posted questions earlier but apparently did not hit 'post'! Here they are, thanks to Kristel for the list which I added a bit to. 1. Have you read any works by Zola? Are you looking forward to reading this one, The Drunkard? The Drunkard is the seventh in the the 20 volume series, Rougon-Macquart Chronicle. Have you read any of the other books in this series? Do you plan to read all 20 volumes?
2. Zola chose to write about this one family because he wanted to show the laws of heredity. Do you like this structure. Do you think Zola may have led the way in creating novels that are epic tales of families over many generations? What do you think these laws of heredity mgith be?
3. What is the future of Gervaise as an alone woman with two children? What do you think her best 'possible' future could be?
4. In what way is this novel about class and society?
5. What is the tone of the book? Does this change over time and why?
6. The setting of the book is Paris. What is the picture of Paris that Zola creates in this novel? In what ways does Zola have you experience this Paris?
7. Discuss Gervaise's vow. Discuss the contrasts of Gervaise and Lali.
8. The title of this book for us is not as significant as it is in the French. The title is the name of the tavern. Discuss the title of the book and what this title implies.
9. Any quotes you noted?
10. Did you enjoy the book, were you engaged or was it a struggle? Does this book belong on the list of books you would want to read before you died?
11. What was the role of fate in the novel? Is it possible to overcome?
12. What do novels about human suffering teach us? Why are they appealing (or aren't they)?
Would you agree with this statement about the novel- why or why not?The novel strives to show that the working classes cannot travel through society in the same way as the middle class, despite their financial achievements or business acumen. Gervaise and Coupeau were born working class and will die working class, no matter what occurs in the course of their lives to change their fortunes.
8. The title of this book for us is not as significant as it is in the French. The title is the name of the tavern. Discuss the title of the book and what this title implies.The French word assommoir comes from the word "assommer" meaning to stun or knock out. It was in use in France in that time as a name for taverns that sold very cheap hard liquor that they distilled on-site and were frequented mostly by people who wanted to get very drunk, mostly as a way to escape their despair about their poverty and hard lives.
Mod
2. So is it hereditary or is it the political/government that creates the poverty, the inability to work, pay bills, not become alcoholic. I don't think it is all hereditary but coming from this poverty would make it hard to climb out of the poverty.
3. I think Gervaise had some good plans and even followed up on plans but she is not a good manager of money and accumulated more debt rather than make a profit. In the world it would be hard to make it as a single woman with two children without having a man's contribution to the finances. She isn't able to stay faithful though.
4. I think i've covered this. But I did find it interesting to tie this into French hx of Napoleon III. I had just been studying this with my granddaughter so it made it all more interesting.
5. Starts optimistic but it deteriorates until the tone is dark.
6. Zola gives us Paris by describing smells, dirt, body fluids, etc. He creates pictures with all our senses.
7. Gervaise is weak in character. Lali is stronger in character. But both are destroyed by their lives. Lali's case is extremely sad.
8. I think the title The Drinking Den is a better title than The Drunkard.
9. I think that there are consequences to life decisions and even though the situation was horrible and morally defeating, there are people that can live upright in spite of the situation.
10. Some appalling for sure.
The audio was very good.
Leighton Pugh (Narrator)
I agree, Kristel, Leighton Pugh is excellent. I am struggling with a different narrator for Nana.Quizz questions:
1. Lantier
2. The dinner table set up in Gervaise's shop
3. Eighth
4. Virginie, Adele's sister
5.Pere Colombe's Assommoir
as I Iistened to an Audible version question two is a guess!
1. I have previously read Germinal and apparently listened to half of Nana - but I do not recall it. I am certainly keen to read more Zola, but probably not all 20 volumes.
2. I like the idea of tracing one family over time but I am sure others have done so before: The Brothers Karamazov? I think Zola was thinking more about how difficult it is to escape poverty, whatever your abiities might be, rather than poverty being genetically determined.
3. Gervaise's predicament was very desparate and so her ability to make a new life with Coupeau and to begin to dream of owning her own business was remarkable and Zola had the reader hoping that she would make a success of it. The best possible outcome would have been if she had found a hardworking responsible man who continued to support her family throughout his life.
4. The setting, in the poorest banlieux of Paris, is described so vividly that the book was considered shocking. Those at the bottom of society are shown not to have the circumstances to improve their position in society and society failed them because it does not provide a social safety net when disaster strikes.
5. The tone is dispassionate to begin with, but it becomes darker and more hysterical towards the end when so many characters are doomed.
6. Zola's writing so vividly evokes the era and the locale that the reader easily imagines being there. It is set at a time when Houssmann was tearing down neighbourhoods to create the Paris we know today. Political events like the riots and the exhibition are mentioned in passing. When the wedding party goes to the Louvre it is such an alienating experience. That side of Paris is seldom visited or thought about by the poor.
7. Gervaise vowed to die in her own bed and she seemed to be on the way to accomplishing her dreams, but in the end she couldn't even manage that modest vow. Lalie was a chid who loved and protected her father, even though he abused her dreadfully. Gervaise was very tolerant of Coupeau after his accident and allowed him to develop a drinking problem
8. L'Assommoir is slang for a place where one goes to become paralytically drunk, to deliberately obliterate the miseries of life. In English we would say plastered, wrecked or legless, but that doesn't translate well as the name of an establishment!
10. I really enjoyed listening to the Audible version, I never wanted to stop listening. I certainly think it deserves its place on the list because it was so innovative in its time.
11. To rise out of abject poverty requires skill, detemination and a lot of hard work. Gervaise's problem was that she wanted to please and she enjoyed playing hostess, and right from her decisions regarding her wedding to Coupeau which incurred so much debt, she struggled to rein in her spending, particularly as she needed to contrast her generosity with the miserliness of the Lorilleaux.
12. I always feel guilty that I have had a so much better chance than so many. I don't always enjoy reading about the struggles of the poor (The Jungle still hunts me)
Mod
Quizz questions:
1. Lantier
2. The dinner table set up in Gervaise's shop
3. Eighth
4. Virginie, Ad..."
That's a good point Pip. These books of poverty and struggles do make me feel guilty.
10. Did you enjoy the book, were you engaged or was it a struggle? Does this book belong on the list of books you would want to read before you died?I obtained two different e-books of it. Neither told who the translator was, strangely. The one I got for $1 for kindle was not as nicely written as the one I borrowed from a library but not kindle-version, so I stuck with reading that on my tablet computer. I enjoyed the first half a lot, the 2nd half less so. I was thinking "well her life is crap now, why does it still have a hundred pages left?", so it was a bit of a struggle then, not too much though. I do think it belongs on the 1001 list and am glad I read it.
2. Zola chose to write about this one family because he wanted to show the laws of heredity. Do you like this structure. Do you think Zola may have led the way in creating novels that are epic tales of families over many generations? What do you think these laws of heredity might be? I believe that the laws of heredity Zola refers to are the class, culture and economic constraints imposed on people by their family and the circumstances of their birth. I do not think he was referring to specific genetic constraints but rather to temperaments that evolve under specific conditions. For example, there is an implication that "drinking" ran in families when the doctor asked if Coupeau's father drank. I did appreciate Zola's structure and having read Nana, the two books really are building toward a whole view of the society at the time through a concentration on one family.
3. What is the future of Gervaise as an alone woman with two children? What do you think her best 'possible' future could be? Sadly, her best possible future in her own mind was to not be beaten and to die in her own bed. There was a time in which she believed she could keep her head above water with hard work. However, having to support 2 able bodied men, 1 old woman and two children was simply too much for her and her faith in herself fell apart and toppled toward gaining some immediate comfort when available in food or drink. After her husband's death, it seemed as if her best possible future was to have some slight control over her own exit from this world. From the reader's point of view, there was, early on, hope that Monsieur Goujet would appear to save the day or that Etienne would be able to support her. Sadly, no.
4. In what way is this novel about class and society?
The poorest people of a fundamentally thriving city are kept in intolerable conditions by a class structure and society that did not help people succeed and did not help them when in desperate need.
Also, although I am having trouble knowing exactly what Zola was thinking on this front, the role of gender in his books really highlights that even among the poor, the woman were particularly unsupported. Zola has very few men in either of the two BOTM books who are morally respectable and capable.
5. What is the tone of the book? Does this change over time and why?
Yes, there is hope in the beginning of the book for Gervaise and her life. Her choices do not seem totally bad and there is love and respect and rewards for hard work. Eventually though, the world wears her and nearly everyone in the book down in some way or another. Even Lantier, although he is "lucky" and can always land on his feet, is not able to rise to the prospects he at one time imagined for himself.
6. The setting of the book is Paris. What is the picture of Paris that Zola creates in this novel? In what ways does Zola have you experience this Paris?
We see Paris through the eyes of the people that live there and Zola's descriptive gifts. We experience the stream of dye that Gervaise jumps over throughout the book. We picture a bed of straw under a stair. We listen to the inebriated sing in the cafes. It is a world rich in detail but very poor in resources.
7. Discuss Gervaise's vow. Discuss the contrasts of Gervaise and Lali.
Gervaise had a very minor but self centered dream of enjoying the fruits of her work, not being beaten, and dying in her own bed. She ultimately failed on all three fronts. Lali lived for her "children" and to protect her father from the truth that he was a murderer. Neither of these women thought it was in their right or in their power to change the men or failing that, to leave them. They had no where to go and evidently thought all men were more or less the same.
8. The title of this book for us is not as significant as it is in the French. The title is the name of the tavern. Discuss the title of the book and what this title implies. There are still cultures in the world where getting completely inebriated in public is not looked down upon. I think that at the time in Paris it was considered a perfectly reasonable way to behave. None of the drinkers seem ashamed of their addiction. They do feel righteous anger about an employer not letting them have a tipple, but they do not look down on those that drink until they are completely unable function and lose their ability to navigate the world.
10. Did you enjoy the book, were you engaged or was it a struggle? Does this book belong on the list of books you would want to read before you died? I enjoyed the book very much once I got past the realization that the roller coaster I was on was more or less, all down hill.
11. What was the role of fate in the novel? Is it possible to overcome? Zola believes in a social and economic fate coupled with the character that grows in such horrid conditions. He does not speak to a religious fate other than to note that God is not helpful to any of his characters. Having read Nana and knowing what Zola envisions for her, I have to assume that Zola believes that one simply can not completely overcome one's fate.
12. What do novels about human suffering teach us? Why are they appealing (or aren't they)?
The reviews for the two BOTM books talk about how these books sold well because they were shocking (The Drunkard) and/or titillating (Nana). I wonder if this means that women read these books and if they were middle class or upper class. Certainly the life of the poor would have only been shocking to those who were not aware of the conditions in the poorest homes. In reading a book about people's suffering one learns and develops empathy towards those who are less well off than you and also appreciation for what you do have.
1. I believe this is my first Zola I do intend to read Nana and possibly I will read the whole cycle as I am seeing Zola as the French equivalent of Dickens and I really appreciated this book.
2. Don't know if other readers around the world have the same terminology but in the UK books that follow one family through multiple generations are affectionately known as AGA Sagas. I had never thought of Zola as being the father of the AGA Saga but it is an interesting idea I can't think of early books that use this technique.
Law of hereditary you never escape your place, your level in society unless you can marry up and discard the past.
3. Not good in that time and place I do think the best option would be to make a good marriage.
4. I would say this is very working class we don't really ever see any other class represented in the story instead we are shown what life is like for the working class and what their position is in society.
5. Starts out sad, period of optimism then back to sadness, tragedy and death.
6. We see the hidden side of Paris, the side that doesn't care about people the doss houses, the soiled streets and of course the drinking establishments of which there appear to be many.
7. Lali is a child who has inherited the role of mother after her father killed her mother, the father is now set on killing the daughter in the same way and she seems to accept that this is her fate and is happy for it as long as her brothers and sisters are safe.
8. The book implies it will be about the dangers of drink and it is. The Drunkard would imply one drunk but it is actually several and how drink has a negative impact on society.
10.I did enjoy the book I am looking forward to reading more and it does belong on the list.
12. I think they are appealing because we can think my life is not that bad, you can learn from reading about how things really were or are and they provide insight into another way of life.
2. Don't know if other readers around the world have the same terminology but in the UK books that follow one family through multiple generations are affectionately known as AGA Sagas. I had never thought of Zola as being the father of the AGA Saga but it is an interesting idea I can't think of early books that use this technique.
Law of hereditary you never escape your place, your level in society unless you can marry up and discard the past.
3. Not good in that time and place I do think the best option would be to make a good marriage.
4. I would say this is very working class we don't really ever see any other class represented in the story instead we are shown what life is like for the working class and what their position is in society.
5. Starts out sad, period of optimism then back to sadness, tragedy and death.
6. We see the hidden side of Paris, the side that doesn't care about people the doss houses, the soiled streets and of course the drinking establishments of which there appear to be many.
7. Lali is a child who has inherited the role of mother after her father killed her mother, the father is now set on killing the daughter in the same way and she seems to accept that this is her fate and is happy for it as long as her brothers and sisters are safe.
8. The book implies it will be about the dangers of drink and it is. The Drunkard would imply one drunk but it is actually several and how drink has a negative impact on society.
10.I did enjoy the book I am looking forward to reading more and it does belong on the list.
12. I think they are appealing because we can think my life is not that bad, you can learn from reading about how things really were or are and they provide insight into another way of life.
The quiz -1. Lantier
2. I don't remember
3. I thought it was sixth, although I see a different answer above!
4. Virginie (the snake!! ;) )
5. On the street
1. This is my first Zola. I have to admit that I read it slowly because I was dreading what was going to happen to poor Gervaise. However, the writing and the storytelling was excellent and compelling. I would like to read more of his work, especially in this cycle.
2. I am not really qualified to answer this since I am jumping in on novel #7 of 20. One good thing is you can really read this as a stand-alone and I believe get the same effect. I think the 'laws of heredity' that Zola is referring to are social and political norms/laws of France at the time. Certainly, there is no 'social safety net' for any of these people and because of the system that is in place (eg. lack of education, etc.) it is very difficult for the working poor to gain a better life.
3. I think the future would have been pretty bleak. There were no opportunities for women with children and no family to help her care for them (if she worked). It was lucky for the oldest boy that he was able to be apprenticed. I think this is why Gervaise ended up succumbing to Coupeau's pursuit of her (since, as a contemporary reader you just knew he would turn out to be no good).
4. It is a very damning, but subtle, portrayal of the oppression of the working class. I particularly liked how Zola didn't hit his readers over the head with 'contrast and compare' of the classes. He kept the story firmly in the life of the working poor.
5. This is a very interesting question (to me). Although the tone, at first, is somewhat hopeful I found it fraught with dread. I knew things were going to go downhill. This worked well for me because by the time things did get (really) bad I was prepared for it and not shocked.
6. Paris sounds very dismal in this novel. It is polluted with smog and open sewers. The (presumably) slums that the characters move through are close and dark and warren like. Interestingly, at the end of the novel they are starting to clear some of the slums away.
8. George makes some good points above about this. The title clearly lays out what we are getting into - and it ain't gonna be pretty.
10. By the end I can say I enjoyed this novel A LOT. However, as I mentioned above I did approach it with dread for the first 1/2 or so. This definitely should be on the list.
11. Fate seemed to play a large role in this novel, and it seemed to be impossible to overcome. I don't know that I agree with that, but Zola had a point to make.
12. As was mentioned in answers above, hopefully they will teach the reader empathy. I also think Zola wanted to make readers think about the social and political systems that they lived in and how to make them better for all.
Alrighty, sneaking in late with my answers despite the fact I read this book in the first few days of the month:1. I’ve a read a few books by Zola at this point: both Nana and this one for the BOTMs for this month, and I’ve read Germinal and Therese Raquin previously. I was looking forward to this one because I was such a huge fan of Germinal and was not disappointed. I’ve now read this one, Germinal, and Nana in the chronicle, Bete Humaine is also in it and on the list so definitely going to read that soon. I do think I’d like to read them all eventually.
2. I think writing about one family was an effective way to show the cycle of poverty and addiction, in that there is a genetics association with certain sites related to substance abuse but moreso that abused and neglected people are more likely to have prolonged trauma responses and not develop positive coping mechanisms in the key stages of life. Did Zola know any of this on some level? That I don’t know. Considering how pro-working class and systemically he writes about their plights I imagine he probably wasn’t saying the “being weak in vice and incurring poverty on oneself runs in families and that’s why it’s hereditary” stance many took at the time (and still take in the ‘bootstraps’ crowd).
3. Plausibly her best possible future in that scenario would have been everybody living without starving or incurring substance abuse issues into adulthood. It’s awful but outside of remarkable circumstance that is true- that is the tragedy.
4. It’s really all about class and society isn’t it- about how things often go for people without opportunity, or when society has no safety nets for injured, disabled, and struggling people.
5. Depressing! Lol…but I found the language was really effective it lifting the tone when it seems Gervaise’s life is looking up when she first meets Coupeau, and then I really felt it when the tone plummets again.
8. So the French translation being essentially “knockout drunk” which is also the name of the tavern really fully encapsulates what sort of cheap booze, exists to service the blackout drunk people, not socializing or community connecting place.
10. I loved this book and gave it 5 stars. Zola is a master of embedding the reader in the struggles of these people and really intelligently and compassionately making the case for the struggle of their lives as well as the tragedy of the small humane ways these systemic evils could be avoided (in this case especially with respect to Coupeau after his accident).
12. I find these novels appealing when they aren’t ‘tragedy/poverty porn’ that just basks in the tragedy of others so that the more fortunate readers feels better about their own lives without saying anything meaningful. But, I like books like this one that makes points about the cycle of poverty, systemic inequity, that point out the cruelty in societies that don’t place compassion at the centre of their politics and beliefs (I love how Les Mis addresses this theme), etc.
1. I am reading in publication order and L'Assommoir was the next on my list. It is my favourite so far although I also really enjoyed "The Belly of Paris" and "The Sin of Abbé Mouret". I own book 8 and now really want to read Nana so hopefully I can pick up my pace and read them both by the end of the year.2. I think anyone expecting these novels to be particularly coherent as a whole will be pretty disappointed. In publication order they are all over the place (why is Nana not after this book for instance). But viewed in terms of his overall theme of how lower-class people have less opportunities due to poverty, poorer health, lack of education etc they get his main points across well. These characters are all related but their economic and social statuses have a huge impact on their lives. I wonder if Claude's book will be more optimistic, because his being taken away to develop his art, was a small glimmer of hope in this book. And what a sad thing to say about a child being taken from his parents.
3. It would have been almost impossible to have a good standard of life with just one income. Marriage was probably her best option, but I thought it was so interesting how Zola gave them years of happiness before things obviously started to fail. I was almost starting to hope... But then, it all starts falling apart. If Coupeau had not fallen off that roof, maybe he could have stayed as her support and helped prop up the family.
4 and 6. The setting is the best bit of the novel in my opinion. It is almost in isolation from the rest of Paris (I am reminded of the Naples of Elena Ferrante where the children had not seen the sea...despite it being just the other side of the city). There is a lack of support from the "state" and no safety nets.
5. Doom and gloom with a thin, easily pierced layer of optimism.
7. Lali's tale was even more shocking than Gervaise's. Utterly horrifying. It highlights the lack of safety net for children, and women. Nobody thinks to do anything (apart from Gervaise on occasion), it is almost as if a man has the right to treat his daughter like this. Is there any help in Paris in the nineteenth century for circumstances like this? Not in Zola's world.
8. I think if you translate the title it is probably better as The Drinking Place rather than The Drunkard (not only because the latter prompts the query... which one).
10. I am working through the series and definitely think this novel deserves its place on this list.
12. How can you read this and not feel compassion? And while there is more of a safety net you still read about children killed by their parents, crime, the suffering of refugees. While in some regards society can be said to be improving, we are perhaps at a point in time when living standards are falling and the poor are increasingly suffering after years of austerity cuts, and now tax rises/further benefit cuts due to paying for Covid measures. Books help people think about the situations they live in and how to improve their own societies.
1. Have you read any works by Zola? Are you looking forward to reading this one, The Drunkard? The Drunkard is the seventh in the the 20 volume series, Rougon-Macquart Chronicle. Have you read any of the other books in this series? Do you plan to read all 20 volumes? I have previously read Germinal and very much appreciated it. I don't necessarily plan to read all of the books in this series, but I look forward to reading the ones included on the list.
3. What is the future of Gervaise as an alone woman with two children? What do you think her best 'possible' future could be?
Although, I really wanted her to stick it out on her own for a while, I understand that in her time and place, most likely marriage is her best option.
5. What is the tone of the book? Does this change over time and why?
The tone of this story became increasingly depressing and hopeless to me.
6. The setting of the book is Paris. What is the picture of Paris that Zola creates in this novel? In what ways does Zola have you experience this Paris?
I think the way that Zola describes Paris and the daily life of these people in Paris is the best part of this book. It goes into such great detail and lets the reader experience this setting through sights, sounds, and tastes.
10. Did you enjoy the book, were you engaged or was it a struggle? Does this book belong on the list of books you would want to read before you died?
Overall, I enjoyed this book and very much appreciated its detailed picture of Paris at this time. When I started it, I was completely pulled in and listened to several hours of the audio straight through. As the story went on, and things just continued to get worse, it became a bit harder to listen to, but I was still incredibly curious to know exactly what would happen to the characters. I feel this book does belong on the list as it lets the reader experience this time and place so well.
11. What was the role of fate in the novel? Is it possible to overcome?
I felt like fate was inevitable in this story. There were so many times I wanted Gervaise to make different decisions and turn her life around, but it seemed completely impossible for her to do so.
12. What do novels about human suffering teach us? Why are they appealing (or aren't they)?
I think these novels help to give us different perspective and often make us think with greater compassion. I found this story very appealing, but I think such depressing books have to be well written in order to be so.
This excerpt from Angus Wilson’s “Afterword” (Signet Classic, 1962) sums up all that is so extraordinary and so depressing about the seventh novel in the great Rougon-Macquart chronicle. Taken from https://readingzola.wordpress.com/201...
Gervaise (zhehr-VEHZ), a laundry worker. Deserted by her lover, Lantier, she marries Coupeau, with whom she prospers until her husband is disabled by an accident and takes to drink. When Lantier returns, she begins to degenerate until, worn out by the hardships of her life, she dies alone.
Lantier (lahn-TYAY), Gervaise's lover, who deserts her and their two children only to return later and complete the ruin of her life.
Coupeau (kew-POH), Gervaise's husband. A roofer, he works hard to support his family until, idled by an accident, he takes to drink.
Adèle (ah-DEHL), the prostitute for whom Lantier deserts Gervaise.
Virginie (veer-zhee-NEE), Adèle's sister and the enemy of Gervaise, over whom she finally triumphs by acquiring Gervaise's shop and the favors of Lantier.
Nana, the daughter of Gervaise and Coupeau. Her decision to leave home for the streets causes Gervaise to lose all interest in life and hastens her complete degeneracy and death.
Goujet (gew-ZHAY), a neighbor secretly in love with Gervaise, whom he tries in vain to help.
Claude (klohd) and Étienne (ay-TYEHN), the children of Gervaise and Lantier.
Madame Boche (bohsh), an older friend of Gervaise.
Madame Fauconnier (foh-koh-NYAY), the proprietor of a laundry, who gives Gervaise work after her desertion by Lantier.