They have stifled me with their middle-class gentleness, and I can hardly understand how it is that there is still blood in my veins. I have lowered my eyes, and given myself a mournful, idiotic face like theirs. I have led their deathlike life.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Émile Zola (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.