J'Accuse

“And now the image of France is sullied by this filth, and History shall record that it was under your presidency that this crime against society was committed.”

Zola directly addresses President Felix Faure. He personifies the concept of history with the capitalization of the noun, which emphasizes how permanent the stain of the Dreyfus Affair will be on the Faure presidency as History shall live on to remember how France was tarnished by this injustice.

“Dare to tell the truth, as I have pledged to tell it, in full, since the normal channels of justice have failed to do so.”

Zola appoints himself as the voice of justice in the Dreyfus case. “The normal channels of justice” refer to the court martials that convicted Dreyfus and acquitted Esterhazy.

“And this is how the case proceeded, like some fifteenth century chronicle, shrouded in mystery, swamped in all manner of nasty twists and turns, all stemming from one trumped-up charge, that idiot bordereau.”

Using the allusion to the 15th century demonstrates how the court proceedings lack logic and reason, likening the Dreyfus court martial to a witch hunt or witch trial. Zola also furthers the point that the bordereau was invented to indict Dreyfus in a crime he did not commit.