L'actionnaire dormait la nuit . . . Germinal ou d'autres contes nihilistes

This article compares the original and the censored version of Zola's adaptation of his novel Germinal in order to analyse the multiple discourses that are at work in the version of the manuscript annotated by the censors-those that the authorities considered to be "acceptable" and those that were labelled "subversive." By seeking to establish the links that existed between the different subtexts created by the dialogue between the writer and the censors this article shows to what extent the elimination of all mention of stockholders, capital, the bourgeoisie and owners in fact reinforced the scenic presence of such characters. The paradoxical result of the negotiations between Zola and the censors was not the simple elimination of the nihilist Souvarine, but a radical strengthening of the scenic presence of the now invisible ruling class. ( In French) (JJB)