Notably, as a reform-minded Catholic himself, he argues that the Virgin Mary is the first to reach the shore safely, with her baby in tow, and that the Pope is the first to die, following his riches into the sea. His goal of speaking to reform-minded Catholics is achieved through a witty dialog format. This colloquy establishes a metaphorical description of the reform in the Church. While it is difficult to follow for the lay person or the student of history without in-depth knowledge of the Church and the Reformation, it serves its function by bringing history to light in a dramatic and surprising new way.
Zola's Germinal, and the relevant passages which describe the workers' strike presents a grim and realistic view of the state of workers in relation to the owning classes during a coalminer strike in northern France in the mid-1800s. The description of the workers' living conditions and the portrayal of the violence of the strike on the part of both workers and police...
While Zola was clearly interested in emphasizing the humanity of the working classes and the righteousness of their cause, thereby inspiring the working class in their real life cause to unionize, this work was not romanticized. The workers are presented as rough and unkempt men, with a propensity toward misbehavior and disloyalty. There is no myth of universal fraternity described in this work. The work does, however, present a moving account of the harshness of working life in the Industrial Revolution, and as such it informs the reader of this critical historical period.
The three works reviewed here present their authors' views on a particular historical event or problem. In presenting the human side of those events through imagination fiction, they afford a glimpse into the life of the times that is not possible to get from a dry historical account. As such, they do much to promote historical imagination.
