The Ladies’ Paradise

by

Émile Zola

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Vallagnosc Character Analysis

Vallagnosc is an acquaintance of Madame Desforges’s and an old school friend of Mouret’s. Throughout The Ladies’ Paradise, Vallagnosc’s temperament and beliefs are contrasted against Mouret’s. Unlike Mouret, Vallagnosc got good grades in school and went on to pursue a life of academia. However, as an adult he holds a minor position in government and lives at home with his mother. Vallagnosc is pessimistic and bored, believing that there is no point in striving for anything when life always fails to live up to one’s expectations. He marries Blanche as part of an arrangement and without having any interest in her. However, when his mother-in-law Madame de Boves creates a scandal by robbing from the Ladies’ Paradise, Vallagnosc is embarrassed, proving that he does care about misfortune—that is, when it befalls him.

Vallagnosc Quotes in The Ladies’ Paradise

The The Ladies’ Paradise quotes below are all either spoken by Vallagnosc or refer to Vallagnosc . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Consumerism and Excess Theme Icon
).
Chapter 11 Quotes

“I want her, and I’ll get her! And if she escapes me, you’ll see what a place I’ll build to cure myself. It’ll be quite superb! You don’t understand this language, old fellow: otherwise, you’d know that action contains its own reward. To act, to create, to fight against facts, to overcome them or be overcome by them—the whole human health and happiness is made up of that!”

Related Characters: Octave Mouret (speaker), Denise Baudu , Madame Desforges , Vallagnosc
Related Symbols: The Ladies’ Paradise
Page Number: 322
Explanation and Analysis:
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Vallagnosc Quotes in The Ladies’ Paradise

The The Ladies’ Paradise quotes below are all either spoken by Vallagnosc or refer to Vallagnosc . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Consumerism and Excess Theme Icon
).
Chapter 11 Quotes

“I want her, and I’ll get her! And if she escapes me, you’ll see what a place I’ll build to cure myself. It’ll be quite superb! You don’t understand this language, old fellow: otherwise, you’d know that action contains its own reward. To act, to create, to fight against facts, to overcome them or be overcome by them—the whole human health and happiness is made up of that!”

Related Characters: Octave Mouret (speaker), Denise Baudu , Madame Desforges , Vallagnosc
Related Symbols: The Ladies’ Paradise
Page Number: 322
Explanation and Analysis: