er humble herself before her husband.

Fine, that strapping woman who drubbed him soundly when they were both
intoxicated, always trembled before him when she was sober, and allowed
him to rule despotically at home. He robbed her in the night of the
coppers which she had earned during the day at the market, but she
never dared to protest, except by veiled rebukes. Sometimes, when he had
squandered the week's money in advance, he accused her, poor thing, who
worked herself to death, of being stupid and not knowing how to manage.
Fine, as gentle as a lamb, replied, in her soft, clear voice, which
contrasted so strangely with her big figure, that she was no longer
twenty years old, and that money was becoming hard to earn. In order
to console herself, she would buy a pint of aniseed, and drink little
glassfuls of it with her daughter of an evening, after Antoine had gone
back to the cafe. That was their dissipation. Jean went to bed, while
the two women remained at the table, listening attentively in order to
remove the bottle and glasses at the first sound.

When Macquart was late, they often became intoxicated by the many "nips"
they thus thoughtlessly imbibed. Stupefied and gazing at each other
with vague smiles, this mother and daughter would end by stuttering.
Red patches appeared on Gervaise's cheeks; her delicate doll-like face
assumed a look of maudlin beatitude. Nothing could be more heart-rending
than to see this wretched, pale child, aglow with drink and wearing the
idiotic smile of a confirmed sot about her moist lips. Fine, huddled
up on her chair, became heavy and drowsy. They sometimes forgot to keep
watch, or even lacked the strength to remove the bottle and glasses when
Antoine's footsteps were heard on the stairs. On these occasions
blows were freely exchanged among the Macquarts. Jean had to get up
to separate his father and mother and make his sister go to bed, as
otherwise she would have slept on the floor.

Every political party numbers its grotesques and its villains. Antoine
Macquart, devoured by envy and hatred, and meditating revenge against
society in general, welcomed the Republic as a happy era when he would
be allowed to fill his pockets from his neighbour's cash-box, and even
strangle the neighbour if the latter manifested any displeasure.
His cafe life and all the newspaper articles he had read without
understanding them had made him a terrible ranter who enunciated the
strangest of politi