This film is a biopic of celebrated French writer Emile Zola who took upon himself to fight social injustice and attack the corrupt establishment with his books. He is also a longtime friend with painter Paul Cezanne with whom he shared a lot of ups and downs while they were both struggling artists and starting with their careers. Now Emile is rich and famous but Cezanne has decided to move back to the country and remain poor since he thinks that's how a true artist should be.

This monologue comes right after a scene with Cezanne who has just told him he is leaving and the two will never meet again. This is more of a conversation with his wife but can be performed as a monologue. His wife walks in and asks if he's tired....