Literary Devices in Thérèse Raquin
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Thérèse Raquin takes place in the grimy backstreets of Paris, not the touristy city-center that we all know and love (from the movies, at least, if not from real life). And since this is a realis...
Narrator Point of View
The narrator of Thérèse Raquin can slip into the minds of all his characters, from Thérèse to Laurent to Mme Raquin. How cool is that? Very. But it's not unique, of course. This story is told f...
Tone
Okay, so you're probably nodding your head as you read the first three adjectives we've used to described the tone of the novel. Objective: check. Scientific: check. Unbiased: check. Zola was tryin...
Writing Style
Zola's writing style is very detailed—sometimes painfully so. This is partly because he wants to provide realistic descriptions of everyday life. But even more important to his project is the met...
What's Up With the Title?
On the surface, there's nothing too complicated about this title. It's just the name of the female protagonist. But let's try to think beyond the obvious here. Let's begin with a question: why not...
What's Up With the Epigraph?
Vice and virtue are chemical products like vitriol and sugar.You may have noticed that there is no epigraph in any of the translations of Thérèse Raquin, but there is one in the original French....
What's Up With the Ending?
The conclusion of Thérèse Raquin is probably one of the most melodramatic, over-the-top endings that you'll ever read. The action escalates quickly, as Thérèse and Laurent plot to kill one anot...
Tough-o-Meter
This page-turner does present certain challenges to the reader, even though the plot's very easy to follow. At first, when we read Thérèse Raquin, we're all, "Oh, this is just a run-of-the-mill t...
Plot Analysis
Thérèse lives with her aunt Mme Raquin and Mme Raquin's sickly son, Camille. Of course, Camille and Thérèse get married. (Shall we call this unhappily ever after?) Thérèse spends most of her...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
Thérèse is dissatisfied with her boring life at the haberdashery shop with Mme Raquin and Camille. When she meets Laurent, she experiences for the first time the satisfaction of her sexual needs....
Three-Act Plot Analysis
Thérèse has always been bored with her simple life, which basically consists of Camille, Mme Raquin, and the habadashery shop. So when she meets Laurent, her pent-up passion is unleashed—rawrâ€...
Trivia
Professor Snape—ahem, we mean, Alan Rickman—appears in the BBC three-part mini-series Thérèse Raquin as Vidal. Who in the world is Vidal, you ask? Laurent's artist friend, who is unnamed...
Steaminess Rating
This is a no-brainer, are we right? Thérèse and Laurent share an unquenchable animal lust for each other, and there are multiple scenes of sexuality throughout the novel. At the time of its publi...