The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-06-16
INTERVIEW WITH ZOLA.
The Man Of the Iron Pom Talks
Freely to an American.
1dir Interesting Pcrsonality-Ti.s Ways OF
Liviur and Working, aud How He iIas
Turned Ont Such en- Incredible
Number of Novcls
IcopYRlGur. 1881

NltlcSS, lnc master. the tclcher.
S'the animal, 1.-The oaiy one who sees
aife ms life is. 'thc mountcbanls," tho
bublimc"-Zola sat in low chair in
mis- billiard room, talking earnestly.
He is rot the large man whom we have
3ecn taught to expect to s@c. lis head
only is big. He is barely of medium
height, and n heavy stoop-lillc that of
n man who has been bent by u great
weight OF heavy worlz-lowers his
shoulders and makes him appear even
shorter than he really is. His face
with its pallid yellow, in front OF
which the still very dark beard stands
forth with almost startling emphasis;
with its painfully deep and clearly de-
aincd burrows running across the brow
and down at the sides of the round.
blunt nose, with its deep eyes sunk il
hollows like those of man who does
not sleep well, and obscured by pro-
eiigious eyeglasses; with its ncrvously
switching and impatient lips-is the
face of u man who worries about his
HorIS and worries about the world
which that work dc;,ls with and con
Germs. His hands and feet are tho small
hands and feet of a delicate dilettantc.
1lis neck is the big ncci5 OF the hard
worker His frame, covered by clothes
which ct better than tho3c the o,di-
nary F'ronchran wears, seems to indi-
Eate strength which has bcen overtaScd
but still real and very great strength
n hnsty glance makes ZOla l@ok more
Alike II man who could run 8 great bank
successfully than like man who could
teach great lessons in uA2ol. But
the second Ylauce revaay5 the nsreEst,
otter it has first revealed tho more
evident student and scholar Also, if
Sc looks like n banker he looks. too
9ike q banker whose bank has failed
and in failing, brought di-.rosa To the
snnocent through no fault OF his own.
Hiis Is not the faco of Il miSanthrope,
but it is the fnce of man who sor.
rows. Perhaps this is tho result of a
aifc in which there has boon little pleas
Yrc. Perhaps it IS facial deception -
1n expression as misleading as that OF
the thief who looks Like n clergyman
al any rate it is impossible, while YOU
Grc in his presence, TO imagine Zola re-
nlly happy. But must emphasize the
Toct that the lines in his face ore those
of the man who is sad, not of the cynic
>or pcasiulist.
eyes, I shall almost certainly go TO
America" hc said gravely, but with
shat great nervous rapldity which
Torccs him, even when he is making
public speech, to 30 bacl, and repeat
words over which he hns stumbled.
"Shall YOU add New York 10 the cities
which arc to be treated in your new
ecrics?' i asked amazed At the posi-
Oility which his rcmarlf had opened up.
Il will not say yes. and l will not say
no." he replied. THAT series began
with Lourdos.' It's next book will be
Rome After that will come Paris =
Whether Paris will be followed by
London and London by New York,
cannot say yet. l have thought OF il.
If | decide 10 carry ont this plan !
shall make very careful study OF my
field. ] think / shall not make mis-
takes which will nmusc you. l try to
avoid mistakes. 1 study my subjects
very minntcly before l take them up,
and am fnost careful"
And with that &C dismissed what IS
apparently the most important piece
OF literary news of the year. lola go
ing to America to write novel about
New York! One wonders how this lit
erary surgeon would viviscct the city
which has stolen his books without even
90 much as ''by your leave" and from
whom he has never received n penny
except four thousand dollars from the
New York Herald for "Lourdcs"-in
pay The literary piracy of American
publishers is sore spot with him
1t would be impossible to give bot
Ter idea of Zola's methods OF work
than ne himself gives in this dcscrip-
zion OF tho way he has written and
is writing Rome" In sense his
physical hard work stops when he gets
60 the point where he can actually be-
gin to writc-whcn he has amrssed his
material. This point reached, no only
works three hours n day. In those
three hours he produces, on an average,
7,50O words-not very great task,
one thinks, but moments computa-
tion will show that it means 5i750
words year, for Zola works every
day. "a Tine for each day" the motto
sn Latin which is carved in letters of
gold over his mantolpicce at Mcdan.
And II is this method OF regularity in
his work, set above mere energy, that
&as enabled him to realize the greatest
ambition accomplished by any writer
diving to-day. His Rougon Macquart
series, consisting of more than twenty