The Kill (La Curée) - Emile Zola

The Kill (La Curée) is the second novel in the Les Rougon-Macquart cycle by Émile Zola. The story focuses on Aristide Rougon, who changes his name to Saccard and tries to rise in social status in Paris during the French Second Empire.Aristide Rougon, who moves from Plassans to Paris to become rich. At first, he works as a clerk, but after his wife dies, he becomes more ambitious. With the help of his sister, he marries Renée, a wealthy young woman who is pregnant and needs a husband to protect her reputation. Through this marriage, Saccard gains money and social status.

Aristide is greedy, yet he remains respectable in society, much like the other Rougons, whose reputation is built on wealth and social status. Aristide is cold and distant; he is rarely at home, as he is constantly occupied with business. Even his marriage is treated as a financial arrangement rather than a relationship based on love. The family’s fragile balance begins to shift when Maxime Saccard, Aristide’s son from his first marriage, comes to live with them. His presence introduces a quiet but disturbing change, reflecting the moral emptiness of the household and gradually fallen into primitive desire.

Renée’s identity depends on being seen as rich and elegant; without that image, she loses her place in society. But inside, she feels empty and bored. She once wanted to feel alive, and in the end, she no longer knows what to want at all. Aristide, on the other hand, seems born to make money. He moves on easily after what Renée did, as if nothing happened. It feels harsh, but this is what Émile Zola calls naturalism: different people survive in different ways. Aristide follows one strong goal (a kind of monomania), and that is why he survives and still respectable in society while Renée does not.

The background of this novel is  so much interesting because we also can learn history, Set during the French Second Empire, when Paris was being rebuilt and modernized. Napoleon III instructed Haussmann to bring air and light to the centre of Paris, to unify the different neighbourhoods with boulevards, and to make Paris more beautiful. Haussmann transformed Paris by building wide boulevards, uniform apartment buildings, parks, and modern infrastructure. Before this modernization, Paris was overcrowded, with narrow streets, working-class neighborhoods, and old houses. As a result, entire districts were demolished to make way for the new city. In the novel, Aristide Saccard is essentially a property speculator. He makes money by buying land or houses cheaply before redevelopment, anticipating where changes will occur, and then selling the property later at a much higher price.

Paris after Hausman's development :

You should read The Kill If you want to explore more the world of the Les Rougon-Macquart, which gives an intense look at the Rougon side. Then you can continue with The Money, which follows Aristide Saccard’s life after this story and shows his ambition on a bigger financial scale. Each novel can stand alone, but reading more will help you see how the characters and themes connect across the series.

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬ (4/5)
Title : The Kill
Author : Émile Zola
Publisher : Oxford World Classics
Year : July, 2008 (First Published in 1871)
Format / Pages : Softcover / 320 pages
ISBN : 9780199536924