The Sin Of Father Mouret

"The Sin of Abbé Mouret tells the compelling story of the young priest Serge Mouret. Striving after spiritual purity and sanctity, he lives a life of constant prayer, but his neglect of all physical needs leads to serious illness, followed by amnesia. No longer knowing he is a priest, he falls in love with his nurse Albine. Together, like a latter-day Adam and Eve, they roam through an Eden-like garden called the 'Paradou', seeking a forbidden tree in whose shade they will make love. Zola memorably shows their gradual awakening to sexuality, and his poetic descriptions of the luxuriant and beautiful Paradou create a lyrical celebration of Nature. When Serge regains his memory and recalls his priestly vows, anguish inevitably follows. The whole story, with its numerous biblical parallels, becomes a poetic reworking of the Fall of Man and a questioning of the very meaning of innocence and sin. Zola explores the conflict between Church and Nature, the sterility of the Church and the fertility of Nature. The edition includes a wide-ranging and helpful introduction and explanatory notes."--Page [4] of cover.

The Sin of Father Mouret (1875) is a novel by French author Émile Zola. The fifth of twenty volumes of Zola’s monumental Les Rougon-Macquart series is an epic story of family, politics, class, and history that traces the disparate paths of several French citizens raised by the same mother. Spanning the entirety of the French Second Empire, Zola provides a sweeping portrait of change that refuses to shy away from controversy and truth as it gets to the heart of heredity and human nature. Serge Mouret is a pious, if not overzealous young man. For his first assignment after taking his religious orders, he is appointed parish priest of the impoverished village of Artauds. Unable to attract villagers to his sermons, he pontificates to an empty, dilapidated church, determined to explore and expose the innermost spaces of his soul. Unconcerned with worldly affairs, he grows increasingly neurotic, eventually suffering a debilitating breakdown. Unable to care for himself, Father Mouret is taken into the care of Doctor Pascal Rougon, a distant relative. At his suggestion, Mouret is sent to Le Paradou, a rundown estate, where he is to live out his life in peace and near-solitude. There, he befriends Albine, a young girl who seems to have grown up alone at Le Paradou, and who dotes on her ailing housemate. As time goes by, he begins to fall in love with her, and their friendship develops into an innocent, blissful romance. The Sin of Father Mouret is a story of family and fate, a thrilling and detailed novel that continues a series rich enough for its author to explore in twenty total volumes. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Émile Zola’s The Sin of Father Mouret is a classic work of French literature reimagined for modern readers.

Serge Mouret, the younger son of Francois Mouret (see La Conquete de Plassans), was ordained to the priesthood and appointed Cure of Les Artaud, a squalid village in Provence, to whose degenerate inhabitants he ministered with small encouragement. He had inherited the family taint of the Rougon-Macquarts, which in him took the same form as in the case of his mother-a morbid religious enthusiasm bordering on hysteria. Brain fever followed, and bodily recovery left the priest without a mental past. Dr. Pascal Rougon, his uncle, hoping to save his reason, removed him from his accustomed surroundings and left him at the Paradou, the neglected demesne of a ruined mansion-house near Les Artaud, where he was nursed by Albine, niece of the caretaker. The Abb fell in love with Albine, and, oblivious of his vows, broke them... (J. G. Patterson)

‘Abbe Mouret's Transgression’ is the fifth novel in the ‘Les Rougon-Marquart’ cycle, following the overly zealous priest Serge Mouret in his search for spiritual purity. He lives in a near constant state of prayer, neglecting his worldly needs until he becomes gravely ill and begins to suffer from Amnesia. In this state of amnesia he forgets his priestly vows, becoming a whole other person and experiencing the world in a completely new and profound way. This novel draws numerous biblical parallels, exploring the meaning of innocence and sin as well as the relationship between the Church and Nature. It is an incredibly compelling and thoughtful read with truly beautiful moments thanks to the strength of it’s cast of characters. Émile Zola (1840-1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, two time Nobel Prize nominee and one of the most important representatives of French naturalism. He was a very influential figure in France’s liberalisation, as well as in the exoneration of the falsely accused French officer Alfred Dreyfus. More than half of his published work was dedicated to the ‘Les Rougon-Macquart’ cycle, detailing the growth of a single family under the second French Empire and the repercussions of alcoholism and violence on subsequent generations. Zola influenced many writers from the "new journalism" wave of writing, including Tom Wolfe, Truman Capote, and Gay Talese. Some of his best known works include "Germinal", "Nana", and "Work".

Reproduction of the original.