LITERATURE ON A SUMMER EVENING: EMILE ZOLA, *THE SHELLS OF MONSIEUR CHABRE* / *LES COQUILLAGES DE MONSIEUR CHABRE* (1876)

Reading by Matthias Paul (German) and Arnaud Lieb (French)

In the garden of the Montpellier House, Kettengasse 19, 69117 Heidelberg, admission €8, reduced rate and dfk members €5

Monsieur Chabre, a grain merchant who is no longer in the first flush of youth and the portly husband of the beautiful Estelle, longs for nothing more than to finally become a father. After four years of fruitless efforts, his doctor advises him to eat seafood to boost his fertility. So the couple travels to the Atlantic coast, and the good-natured Monsieur Chabre—who is repulsed by water and sea creatures—slurps, chews, and cracks open all sorts of shellfish and sea urchins on his doctor’s orders. Indeed, his wish is granted nine months later—but it was neither oysters nor shrimp that made it happen, but rather a young Breton named Hector …

Émile Zola (1840–1902), one of the greatest French novelists of the 19th century and the founder of literary naturalism, rose to fame with his major novel cycles. Less well known are his short stories, in which he replaced social criticism with humor. Join us on a short getaway to the French Atlantic coast with this lighthearted story about Monsieur Chabre.