Working Conditions of the Poor

A number of times in the novel, Zola takes the readers to the various workplaces where various characters lie their trade, and it should be noted that every one of these places is a site of hard manual labour. The working conditions for these laborers, while not overly discussed, is a major them f the novel, and Zola takes special care to outline the somewhat extreme sites in which these workers toil.

First is Gervaise: the reader is immediately taken to the washhouse in the very first chapter, setting the tone for the rest of the book. “[The washhouse] was an enormous shed with a level ceiling, exposed beamed resting on cast-iron pillars, and big clear glass windows. Pallid daylight shone freely through the hot steam heaving in there like a milky fog. Clouds of vapor rose up here and there and...