2Tess_W
I'm reading this one via Gutenberg Press. The translator is Elizabeth Chase and unfortunately, there is no intro. My friend is looking for her Oxford copy for me so I can read the intro. However, having read chapters 1-2, this is not what I would expect from Zola!
3booksaplenty1949
>2 Tess_W: I see that Eliza Earle Chase’s translation was done in 1893, so I guess there will be no point looking forward to any racy sex scenes in your edition of The Dream. Is there a more recent translation?
PS. I see the Oxford edition is “A new translation by Paul Gibbard.”
PS. I see the Oxford edition is “A new translation by Paul Gibbard.”
4japaul22
I’m going to purchase the Oxford edition. They seem to be the most recent translations and most true to the French original. I think I’ll get to this in mid-May. Interested because I read that this is a departure for Zola - more romantic and ethereal rather than his typical naturalism.
5booksaplenty1949
>4 japaul22: That may be true of the writing style, but the theme of genetic determinism is in line with the Rougon-Macquart project as a whole.
6Tess_W
The tone is dreamlike, gentle, and almost mystical, differing from Zola’s typically harsh realism.
Angelique seems to be very innocent and virginal, unlike the other flawed Macquarts.
Angelique seems to be very innocent and virginal, unlike the other flawed Macquarts.
8booksaplenty1949
Angelique, while indeed innocent and virginal, seems somewhat bi-polar, regularly falling into periods of fierce anger, followed by scenes of tearful remorse. Chapter 2 gives us pages of alarming accounts from The Golden Legend, full of sadism and masochism, with which Angelique is apparently obsessed. And of course this is where we learn that her mother is Sidonie Rougon. Hard to feel sanguine about her future despite the excellent intentions of her adoptive parents.
PS I see that chapter 2 of my La Pléiade edition of Le Rêve contains chapter 2 and 3 of the translation available on Project Gutenberg.
PS I see that chapter 2 of my La Pléiade edition of Le Rêve contains chapter 2 and 3 of the translation available on Project Gutenberg.
9japaul22
My edition has an interesting note about guardianship vs. adoption.
"unofficial guardianship: this legal bond was established in French law in 1803 . . . as a way of sanctioning a relationship that was more than simple benefaction but did not extend as far as adoption. The ward was not legally a member of the unofficial guardian's family and received no rights of inheritance. This provision was designed as a preliminary to adoption, as the government sought to prevent the over-hasty adopting of children before their characters had become apparent. Adoption could occur only once the child had reached 21, the age of majority."
"unofficial guardianship: this legal bond was established in French law in 1803 . . . as a way of sanctioning a relationship that was more than simple benefaction but did not extend as far as adoption. The ward was not legally a member of the unofficial guardian's family and received no rights of inheritance. This provision was designed as a preliminary to adoption, as the government sought to prevent the over-hasty adopting of children before their characters had become apparent. Adoption could occur only once the child had reached 21, the age of majority."
