Les Rougon-Macquart : rivalités au chevet d’une mère névrosée
The Rougons-Macquart: Rivalries at the Bedside of a Neurotic Mother

Summary/Abstract: Adélaïde Fouque, unable to channel her love passion, which is a symptom of her hysteria, can be held guilty in many ways. Underlying the Rougon-Macquart tragedy there is indeed this key event: the Transgression of Adelaïde, the “mad Mother”. Aunt Dide, who is sequentially wife and mistress, gives birth to a two-headed family, the legitimate branch being Pierre Rougon and the bastard branch being Antoine Macquart. From then on, legitimacy and marginality will characterize the relationship between the enemy brothers. This internal strife unfolds in particular around the issue of how to manage the inheritance of the Fouque family, rich market gardeners. The difficult relationship that identifies Pierre and Antoine extends to ideology. They have indeed opposite political opinions. The elder brother is royalist, whereas the youngest is republican. The Rougons, who have always dominated the Macquarts in this fratricidal struggle, will definitely prevail in the end.

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