The creation of la nouvelle femme in Émile Zola’s The Ladies’ Paradise

Abstract

This article analyzes the Emile Zola’s novel The Ladies’Paradise, within the framework of Paris modernization of the Second Empire. The document studies, fundamentally, the transformation of social being and the creation of a new character: la nouvelle femme, played by Denise Baudu. The article exposes the ironic framework of the novel and dialogues with the new man’s concept of Henri de Saint-Simons. It is argued that Zola proposes, from the point of view of his female character, that a change in the environment is conducive to the development of natural women and men; la nouvelle femme is the new element capable of creating a great social change through work and virtue.