“Life such as it runs about the streets, the life of the rich and the poor, in the market places, on the race-courses, on the boulevards, in the populous alleys”
Due to Claude the main purpose of art is to represent life as it is, and for him the truth is the most important thing to portray. The Academic views differ from these as for them the main purpose of art is to portray beauty, and the truth is not always beautiful. Revolutionary attitudes towards art and its purposes is the main theme of the novel.
“From the moment I start a new novel, life’s just one endless torture. The first few chapters may go fairly well and I may feel there’s still a chance to prove my worth, but that feeling soon disappears and every day I feel less and less satisfied.”
The main character of the novel is Claude Lantier, whose addiction to art grows into sick obsession. But all the rest characters are also devoted to the field of their activity, like Sandoz is devoted to writing and pursues an idea to create a great series of books which might reflect the reality (in this image the very author – Emile Zola, is represented, Zola used himself as a prototype for Sandoz). Like Claude Sandoz is not always satisfied with his work, he finds it imperfect as well. But unlike Claude Sandoz does not go the path of self-destruction. Being not so passionate Sandoz manages to succeed and become a popular writer.
“Ah! a man ought to have the courage and the pride to strangle himself before his last masterpiece”
These words, thrown by Claude in one of his passionate speaks out for defense of art, became prophetic. He really dared to hang himself in front of his last masterpiece, this cursed picture which turned him mad completely. Such talks prove that when an idea in born in one’s head, and if a person continues keeping such a way of thinking and treating life, it probably is destined to become true, as we see on the example of Claude Lantier.
