Chapter 6, 7&8
- This quote, immediately after Laurent’s encounter with Therese, show us that Laurent is prepared to have an affair with his friends ‘wife’. Laurent thinks of Therese as an experiment or in any case he does not expect to fall in love with her. This also portrays and justifies Laurent’s power and self-centered attitude since he does not seem to care about Therese that much. This also prepared the readers for might come later on in the book because we can see that Laurent feels that he has the situation under control. Zola inserted this quote in order to tell the readers about the immediate thoughts Laurent had after meeting Therese and how he only thinks of his benefits and not those of Therese. In addition, as stated before, this warns and prepares the readers for what will happen to the relation between Therese and Laurent. He also mentions that Laurent sees Therese as “ ugly and he did not love her, but she would cost him nothing”. In chapter 7, the quote seems to have fulfilled its goal because it has become clear that Therese and Laurent find their relationship necessary and therefore Laurent would have to resolve the problem, like stated in the quote.
Chapter 9, 10& 11
- This passage, which Zola writes in great detail, describes Laurent need of Therese. The reason Zola described this need in such a way is in order to imprint this image in the readers’ mind and to illustrate the new image Therese portrays in the eyes of Laurent. The images, such as “ his passion burst out with blind fury” and “sought it with the determination of a starving animal”, are so rich in detail that the readers can imagine perfectly what Zola is trying to portray. The richness of this description shows us the importance of this character’s feelings. As said in the beginning of the book, it’s not the characters that interest Zola, it’s their temperaments. This passage is focusing on Laurent’s temperaments which Zola is studying in detail.
- After Zola has described Laurent’s need of Therese in such a detailed way, the readers feel that Laurent should kill Camille. Laurent suspects that if Camille is dead, he will be able to marry Therese and he will always be with her. The only problem that I personally see is that Camille has not done anything wrong to Therese. He is not aware of Therese’s need. But in the eyes of Laurent, who does not care about Camille anymore, feels it more important to have Therese for himself and kill Camille than to have an affair with Therese seen that Camille hasn’t done anything bad to Laurent.
- I think that even thought the book is written through the point of view of the narrator, the readers get the impression that whenever Camille is portrayed, it is the image that Therese and Mme. Raquin see. Zola has managed to describe Camille in such a way that the readers see this image through the eyes of Therese and not those of Mme. Raquin because she thinks of Camille as an angel and not a feverish child. It is due to the fact that Therese and the narrator share the same point of view regarding Camille’s image that Zola has been able to describe Camille through the eyes of Therese.
- The actual moment of the murder does not surprise me because I feel that in some way, Laurent has the ‘right’ to murder to Camille because we seem sympathetic towards Laurent and Therese more than to Camille, who does not care about Therese in any way. Zola does not want to focus on certain events in his book, he only wishes to emphasize the main images and the feelings the haracters portray due to certain events. Therefore, I would say that Zola handles this in a very good way because he does not diverge from his main goal and emphasizes on Therese’s state of mind during the murder and the main image of the murder: Camille’s bite in Laurent’s neck. If I were filming the murder of Laurent I would focus on Therese’s facial expressions since that is the main image Zola is trying to portray in my point of view.
“It was the oarsmen who ate Camille’s dinner”. Even though this is a very simple and straight forward phrase, Zola emphasizes it by not only separating it from the body paragraph but also by the length and the fact that it is at the end of the chapter where Camille’s murdered. This shows the readers the unimportance of Camille’s disappearance in their lives, which doesn’t seem that important because it is portrayed in a more humorous way than serious.
Chapter 12, 13 & 14
- Laurent is naïve to assume he could forget the murder because seen his personality that Zola described in the beginning of the book, he seems lazy and calm and who never have considered murdering a friend of his before he met Therese. We cannot forget that Laurent is very manipulative, for example, he managed to have and affair with Therese. Therefore, this whole situation was well thought out however, murdering a friend cannot be easily forgotten, as seen in his dreams later on in the book.
- Camille’s fellow workers at Orleans Railway seem happy that they can finally talk about one of their fellow drowned worker. At the same time, this shows that Camille doesn’t have true friends at the Orleans Railway because otherwise they wouldn’t be proud of his death. The people in Paris, rich or poor, like the spectacle of the Morgue and find it enjoyable to see the dead people lying down on the slaps visible to the crowd. Zola does not clearly state why they are fascinated by the Morgue, he only mentions that they like the shows, as if it were theater. Zola finds these kinds of behaviors interesting to analyze and show the readers how the society saw the Morgue and how they would have reacted to a murder. Zola focuses on these behaviors to show the readers the context the book was written in and how this could have influenced Laurent or Therese. When reading this passage I was not that shocked but I was surprised to see that people would find it enjoyable to see dead bodies in the morning, especially when Zola describes it as: “Women came in great numbers: pink, young working girls, with white blouses and clean shirts, who went briskly from one end of the window to the other, attentive and wide-eyed, as though looking at the display in a fashion store.” This comparison sounds unrealistic to me and that is why it surprised me in such a way.
- Knowing that women are not the same as they were at the time this book was written, I think Zola tries to see what women think and what their role is in the society but that he does not succeed 100 percent. They are portrayed as weaker characters, because Therese has an affair with Laurent, Therese gives in to orders and the women hang themselves due to love. These generalizations do not define a woman and therefore I think Zola does not look at the strengths enough. Zola portrays Therese as being weak when she does not have the guts and power to face Mme. Raquin while Laurent goes to work and faces reality everyday. Zola emphasizes on the women’s weaknesses and not how Therese helped Mme. Raquin face the fact that Camille was dead and that she only had Therese to rely on.
Chapter 15, 16 & 17
- The image of the scar symbolizes the presence of Camille in their everyday lives. Laurent will always carry this mark and it is the stinging feeling that reminds him of what he has done to Camille. It is due to this scar that Laurent suffers so much from what’s happened. When ever he thinks of Therese, the scar reminds him of Camille’s murder and the bite Camille gave him. Zola describes it as: “He imagined it eating into his flesh. He quickly pulled his hand […] the dreadful burning increased” This detailed description of the scar and how Laurent feels when the scar stings and reminds him of Camille. In addition the scar can be seen as a mark of Laurent’s conscience and how he feels inside.
- Therese dreams about the fact that when she meets Laurent, she sees Camille’s drowned body. This disgusting, blue man who prevents Therese from sleeping and embracing Laurent.
Chapter 21, 22 & 23
- Now Laurent feels that he is weaker than Therese, who constantly gives him cold stares. Zola portrays the change in character and the character development through these chapters when saying: “Therese’s dry, nervous character had reacted in an odd way with the stolid, sanguine character of Laurent”, “But Therese had developed those stirring into frightful shudders” and “his nerves developed and came to dominate the sanguine element in him, this fact by itself changing his character”. We can see that Laurent feels like Therese has influenced him in developing into a different character.
The setting is mentioned when stating: “a bright fire was blazing in the gate, casting large patches of yellow light that danced on the ceiling and the walls...” and “Therese was sitting on a low chair, to the right of the chimney”. These detailed descriptions let the readers imagine exactly how Zola wants them to imagine the room with Laurent and Therese.
The structure is portrayed by: “Laurent paused, his throat dry, choking, unable to continue”. I personally found that this was a good quote which shows how Zola tries to get as much imagery as he can in a short and simple sentence. But Zola is also very well known for his long detailed descriptions.
- This quote summarizes both of the character’s feelings. It is due to Camille’s murder that Therese and Laurent have never been able to look at each other again. This clear statement shows us that now that they see what they have caused and how this has changed and developed other characters, they are not able to think of their affair. They themselves had developed after Camille’s murder and they no longer see their desires necessary especially when systematically confronted with Camille’s image.
Chapter 24, 25 & 26
- Mme. Raquin’s paralysis gives both Laurent and Therese the feeling that something could still go wrong, maybe she was about to die, we do not know. That is why Zola tries to build up the tension and describe the feeling she got when the paralysis crept by her throat. Also the reaction of both Laurent and Therese when they first saw Mme. Raquin made the readers worry and wonder what was going to happen to her. It is also due to the fact that the readers now feel sympathy for Mme. Raquin that Zola has made this dramatic since we feel that she should be the person surviving. In addition, this meant that the relationship between Laurent and Therese would never be the same seen that they would have to bear each other with out Mme. Raquin who was the one who brought them together.
Chapter 27, 28 & 29
- I think the hatred between Laurent and Therese is inevitable because of what they have gone through but at the same time I they could still make the effort of being together after having killed Camille. I think that it is a bit ridiculous because it seems impossible for Laurent and Therese to be in a necessary relationship and after having murdered Camille, they feel no attraction at all. On the other hand, the scar reminds the couple of Camille and how they murdered a friend in order to be together.
- In this book, we are not sure when the truth has been said. However one of the moments when the truth has been said is when Laurent and Therese talk about their crime right in front of Mme. Raquin. Most of the time the conversations between Therese and Laurent after their marriage are very honest and truthful, at least that is the sense Zola portrays when talking about these two characters. The fact that the both Laurent and Therese lay their roles when in the presence of others justifies that when they are alone together, the narrator tells the readers the truth but there is no way to be certain.
Chapter 30, 31 & 32
- Laurent and Therese realize that they have just murdered their friend in order to get married and be together. Even though Therese and Laurent would dispute, the crime they committed together bound them together but also separated them on a sentimental level. In addition, the mutual destruction is exaggerated in such a way that the readers do not feel that this is realistic.
- Themes Scenes
Passion (between Laurent and Therese)
Anger (in the eyes of Mme. Raquin)
Guilt (in Therese’s and Laurent’s point of view)
Violence (the crime, the morgue, verbal violence between Laurent and Therese)
- Portrait- foreshadows Camille’s death and the crime the two characters will commit
Color Green- illustrates the color of a drowned man: Camille
Scar- symbolizes Laurent’s conscience
Cat- symbolizes Mme. Raquin because she is quite and lost in thoughts like the old woman.
Camille’s ghost- symbolizes the constant presence of Camille and the constant reminder of their crime
