Émile Zola (Paris, 1840–1902), considered the father of Naturalism according to more conventionally academic literature textbooks, is often described as an old-fashioned, ponderous, didactic novelist. And in part, he is. His novels possess a linear solidity and expository clarity typically characteristic of the nineteenth century. The prolixity with which he narrates some scenes and situations makes certain passages seem superfluous and burdensome. And the scientific yet vindictive spirit with which he addresses injustices, class conflicts, and the subaltern condition of many characters gives his books such an explicit socio-ideological dimension that it can border on propagandistic pedagogy.