Public Intellectual—Emile Zola
“I have but one passion, the search for light, in the name of humanity which has suffered so much and is entitled to happiness. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul.”
—Emile Zola, J’Accuse . . . !, 1898
Even though Colonel Georges Picquart had discovered evidence that revealed Ferdinand Esterhazy to be the true spy, Esterhazy was tried and acquitted. He then fled to England, where he lived comfortably until his death in the 1920s.
Outraged, Emile Zola, a French writer and intellectual, published J’Accuse . . . ! (I Accuse) in the newspaper L’Aurore, in which he denounced the military for its lies and cover-ups. J’Accuse . . . ! was written as an open letter to the French president. Zola wrote so openly in order to be tried for libel, so that new evidence in support of Dreyfus could be made public. Convicted of libel after a dramatic public trial in February 1898 (the “Zola Affair”), Zola fled to England to escape the court’s sanction. Furious debate in the press and public led to high interest in the case. Zola was later pardoned, and although accepting the pardon would essentially be an admittance of guilt, Zola did accept it, saying "The truth is on the march, and nothing shall stop it." J’Accuse . . . ! exemplified the new power of French intellectuals such as Zola to shape public opinion through the media.
Zola died in September of 1902 of asphyxiation due to a blocked chimney—perhaps a deliberate act of poisoning. Just under six years after his death, his remains were transferred to the Pantheon, a mausoleum where distinguished French citizens are buried.