He cherished lofty ambitions, possessed domineering instincts, and showed singular contempt for trifling expedients and petty fortunes.
He was a proof that Plassans was perhaps not mistaken in suspecting that Felicite had some blue blood in her veins.

The passion for indulgence, which became formidably developed in the Rougons, and was, in fact, the family characteristic, attained in his case its highest pitch; he longed for self-gratification, but in the form of mental enjoyment such as would gratify his burning desire for domination.

A man such as this was never intended to succeed in a provincial town.

He vegetated there for fifteen years, his eyes turned towards Paris, watching his opportunities.

On his return home he had entered his name on the rolls, in order to be independent of his parents.