La Bête humaine (The Beast Within or The Beast in Man) is an
1890 novel by Émile Zola. The story has been adapted for the cinema on several
occasions. The seventeenth book in Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart series, it is
based upon the railway between Paris and Le Havre in the 19th century and is a tense,
psychological thriller.
The solitary Lantier, who drives a locomotive between Paris
and Le Havre, is liable to go into a murderous fit if alone with a woman he
desires. He only feels secure when driving the train with his fireman Pecqueux.
However, he cannot fail to notice Séverine, the sexy wife of Roubaud, the
deputy stationmaster at Le Havre. She in the past had an affair with the rich
and influential Grandmorin.
The jealous Roubaud forces her to meet Grandmorin
on a train, There he robs and kills his rival, but by chance the off-duty
Lantier is a witness. Because he is attracted to Séverine, he says nothing to
the police, for which one night she rewards him.
Then she starts suggesting to
Lantier that he should get rid of her husband, but he fails the test. Instead,
calling on her one night, he has a fit and kills her. Next day, after
confessing to Pecqueux, he jumps to his death from the speeding train.
Thanks, Kaar
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