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''Au Bonheur des Dames'' ((:obɔnœʁ deˈdam); ''The Ladies' Delight'' or ''The Ladies' Paradise'') is the eleventh novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola. It was first serialized in the periodical ''Gil Blas'' and published in novel form by Charpentier in 1883. The novel is set in the world of the department store, an innovative development in mid-nineteenth century retail sales. Zola models his store after Le Bon Marché, which consolidated under one roof many of the goods hitherto sold in separate shops. The narrative details many of Le Bon Marché's innovations, including its mail-order business, its system of commissions, its in-house staff commissary, and its methods of receiving and retailing goods. ''Au Bonheur des Dames'' is a sequel to ''Pot-Bouille''. Like its predecessor, ''Au Bonheur des Dames'' focuses on Octave Mouret, who at the end of the previous novel married Caroline Hédouin, the owner of a small silk shop. Now a widower, Octave has expanded the business into an international retail powerhouse occupying, at the beginning of the book, the greater part of an entire city block. ''Au Bonheur des Dames'' was first translated into English by F. Belmont in 1883. Several other translations have appeared since. John Calder published April FitzLyon's translation in 1957.〔Calder, John, ''(Obituary: April FitzLyon )'' in ''The Independent'' dated September 24, 1998, online at findarticles.com (accessed 18 June 2008)〕 The most readily available are those by Brian Nelson (''The Ladies' Paradise'', 1995) for Oxford World's Classics and by Robin Buss (''The Ladies' Delight'', 2002) for Penguin Classics. ==Plot summary== The events of ''Au Bonheur des Dames'' cover approximately 1864-1869. The novel tells the story of Denise Baudu, a 20-year-old woman from Valognes who comes to Paris with her younger brothers and begins working as a saleswoman at the department store Au Bonheur des Dames. Zola describes the inner workings of the store from the employees' perspective, including the 13-hour workdays, the substandard food and the bare lodgings for the female staff. Many of the conflicts in the novel spring from each employee's struggle for advancement and the malicious infighting and gossip among the staff. Denise's story is played against the career of Octave Mouret, the owner of Au Bonheur des Dames, whose retail innovations and store expansions threaten the existence of all the neighborhood shops. Under one roof, Octave has gathered textiles (silks, woolens) as well as all manner of ready-made garments (dresses, coats, lingerie, gloves), accessories necessary for making clothes, and ancillary items like carpeting and furniture. His aim is to overwhelm the senses of his female customers, forcing them to spend by bombarding them with an array of buying choices and by juxtaposing goods in enticing and intoxicating ways. Massive advertising, huge sales, home delivery, and a system of refunds and novelties such as a reading room and a snack bar further induce his female clientele to patronize his store in growing numbers. In the process, he drives the traditional retailers who operate smaller speciality shops out of business. In ''Pot-Bouille'', an earlier novel, Octave is depicted as a ladies' man, sometimes inept, who seduces or attempts to seduce women who can give him some social or financial advantage. In ''Au Bonheur des Dames'', he uses a young widow to influence a political figure–modeled after Baron Haussmann–in order to gain frontage access to a huge thoroughfare, the present day rue de Quatre-Septembre, for the store. Despite his contempt for women, Octave finds himself slowly falling in love with Denise, whose refusal to be seduced by his charms further inflames him. The book ends with Denise admitting her love for Octave. Her marriage with Octave is seen as a victory for women, by her conquest of a man whose aim is to subjugate and exploit women using their own senses. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Au Bonheur des Dames」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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