Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola
In Thérèse Raquin, the narrative begins partway through the plot, setting the scene in the Passage du Pont-Neuf, and giving descriptions of some of the key characters involved without naming them, which introduces the characters in the context of their behaviour and their appearance, rather than automatically naming them and letting the reader start to feel familiar with the characters. This opening chapter is purely descriptive, told by a detached narrator. This chapter works as an introduction to the general ‘feel’ of the story – Zola’s descriptions of the small, stuffy shop suggest a feeling of claustrophobia. It also introduces a darker side of Paris, as opposed to the stereotypical touristic ideas of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Champs Elysées.
After this opening paragraph, the narrative goes back retrospectively to tell the story from the beginning. This narrative introduces the Raquins in a time long before anything significant to the plot happens – this gives the reader background information, adding an element of predictability, as the reader becomes familiar with the characters and how they react to each other, especially Thérèse (towards Camille). The familiarity Zola builds between Thérèse and the reader is really important, as the reader starts to really know the character well – they know all about the situation she is in, and the narrator tends to take Thérèse’s side at the start of the book with descriptions of the sickly Camille and his doting mother (Thérèse’s aunt). In this way, Thérèse’s voice starts to break through the narrative, so that without having this character tell the reader what happens or how she feels, her feelings are made quite obvious by Zola. Most characters seem to have quite a distinct voice in the narrative, which really helps to establish the claustrophobic feel of the text later on – as if the only place for Zola’s characters to escape to is their own minds.