This comparative thesis focuses on the comparison of the ways social criticism was expressed in two novels: French Nana (1880.) and Croatian Mrs. Sabina (1883.). The theoretical components of naturalism as a movement that marked the last decades of the 19th century have been introduced. Additionally, the main features that marked the literary work of the authors of the analysed novels, Émile Zola (1840. – 1902.) and Eugen Kumicic (1850. – 1904.), have been presented. The central part of the paper includes a comprehensive analysis of social criticism supported by the quoted passages of the two novels, and ultimately their comparison. In the center of the critique of the analyzed novels are the protagonists Nana and Sabina Lozar who are representatives of their milieu. Namely, the represented Zagreb society is preoccupied primarily with material possessions and for that reason they use use numerous immoral actions in order to get money. On the other hand, Parisian society is much more hedonistic, it is led not only by the ambition for money, but also by numerous other vices, among which lust is one of the most pronunced one. Social criticism has been described through naturalism which has been systematically defined by É. Zola, portraying the negative characteristics of Parisian society. His poetics in Croatian literature was first applied by E. Kumicic who tried to illustrate the problems of the Zagreb society/area in his novel. According to naturalistic poetics, Zola wanted to represent the universality of life, unlike Kumicic, who not only showed multitude of negative features of the society of his time but also directly condemned them.