Industry Dominance

So far, Emile Zola’s Au Bonheur des Dames is a perfect example business competition, not only seen through the eyes of a department store, but through the eyes of “big business.” Au Bonheur des Dames is the first huge department store in Paris and, through the extreme detail by the author; we are able to get a real sense of how it felt when large stores began in the 19th century. Much like Wal-mart today, Au Bonheur is tailoring its company to the customer. Everything is geared toward the customer in such and overwhelming way that one may not know what to do with themselves upon entering the building. There are a few instances in the novel where characters were feeling anxious and overwhelmed to do the shear size of the store as well as the infinite selection of goods. The author wants to portray the domination of this store to is fullest, making the small neighboring stores feel even smaller. This first “big business” shows the earliest signs of competition between big and small business. This store can be seen as the first monopoly in the sales industry. They are buying in higher quantity to be able to lower prices and eventually take over the local businesses. Three prominent characters so far are representing each of these business situations; Mouret is big business, Uncle Baudu is small business and Denise is the consumer stuck in a constant battle between both sides. I think as we see this novel develop, these instances of business competition will become even more of a focus resulting in an enriched understanding of how big business dominance all began in the 19th century.