Résumé
The novel explores the "fatal downfall of a working-class family" in the poor suburbs of Paris, with themes of drunkenness, idleness, and poverty.
The first chapter introduces Gervaise, a young woman who has been waiting all night for her partner, Lantier, who has failed to return home. The text describes the squalor of their rented room and Gervaise's deep anxiety about her situation.
The author states that the book is intended to be "moral in action" and to show how a life of vice can lead to shame and death.