ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns dressed and undressed bodies and the material or metaphoric veils which cover them. The deconstructive power of the veil within the Zolian text can only be fully illustrated when it is read, in relation to the dressed and undressed bodies which it both hides from view and simultaneously reveals for the reader. The enigmatic body remains covered in the Zolian text as the Naturalist dream of total disclosure is thwarted by the very text established in order to enable just such a disclosure. In Naturalist Fiction, Baguley shows how 'the novel is remarkable for its dynamic of voyeurism and exhibitionism'. Nana's body has resisted critical interpretation for so long simply because there is nothing there to interpret. John Berger offers an important re-reading of Clark's presentation of the naked/nude binary which is instructive here. The descriptions of Christine's skin discussed here are perhaps most revealing when compared to Claude's appreciation of the painted body.
