Zola vs Edmond About Vitalism at work in Thérèse Raquin

The establishment of the scientific method in literature was not Zola’s only contribution during the 1860s. In his writings on art, the novelist strives to overcome About’s intellectualist positivism, which itself opposes idealism, and sets up the vital energy inside the human body as Beauty. I will attempt to spotlight Zola as art theorist, who promotes a vitalist aesthetic in his writings on art and Thérèse Raquin.