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Why do the women mangle Maigrat's body as thoroughly as they do?
Maigrat's mutilation and pillaging by the women is a visceral reaction to the sexual harassment he repeatedly subjected them to. What the women do shocks everyone, including Etienne and even the most fervent and violent of the male protestors. The incident reveals the hidden pains and frustrations that the women have had to hold in. Zola's vivid description gives the reader some interpretive freedom to assess the significance of the women's actions beyond simple retribution. They attempt to eradicate the difference in the way they are treated by reacting in an overzealous way.
Though Maigrat is already...
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