Therese Raquin - Emile Zola

A detailed Summary of Therese Raquin - Emile Zola

"Zola presents a rapid and powerful development of the affair between Therese and Laurent. How effective is Zola's portrayal of the encounter between the lovers and what are the changes evident in the previously calm and assured Laurent?"

Therese is fascinated by Laurent when he first walks into her life as an adult. She is spellbound by his sheer manliness and animal magnetism. He is strong, muscular and handsome - the antithesis of Camille. As Zola writes, Therese "had never seen a real man before." Laurent is able to transfix and unsettle her with a single look. It is obvious, right off the bat, that he has the young woman in his power. She sits, slack-jawed and pale, and watches Laurent attentively while he tells his story. He thinks up an excuse to come over to the Raquins' more often - Therese's reaction to him is intriguing. For the rest of the evening, he ignores her while she trembles with emotion.

Zola describes Therese's reaction physiologically, as he does other characters' throughout the book. She cannot understand what it is about Laurent that makes her weak in the knees and constantly nervous around him. She, too, wants to find out more about the interesting stranger. She watches him paint Camille's portrait, "

oblivious to everything else". A "strange force" attracts her to him and she is unable to tear herself away. Therese can barely even speak to Laurent when he tries to make conversation; she quivers without knowing why. In describing the encounter in chemical and physiological terms, Zola is excellent. All of her behavioural symptoms of lust are presented in just the cold and objective way the author was aiming for.

The lovers see their affair as inevitable and natural. Therese releases the pent-up emotions she has bottled for years in her passionate demonstrations of love, and Laurent satisfies his need for sex. Laurent seems unchanged after the relationship has begun but already he starts seeing Therese as beautiful and looks forward to their meetings more and more. She is growing on him and he feels ill at ease with her total abandon in bed. He has never known a woman who felt so strongly about him and the feeling quickly become mutual. The mere act of being away from her for a week physically pains him. From then on, he "bows to her will". The ardour of Therese's love doesn't die down - if anything, it increases. His confidence disappears and is replaced by caution and actual fear. Laurent, initially the controller, becomes the contr

Some common words found in the essay are:
Therese Neither, Raquins' Therese's, Suddenly Camille's, Camille Zola, Laurent Therese, Therese Laurent, , camille's murder, therese's reaction, laurent therese, camille's portrait,

Approximate Word count = 839
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Therese Raquin - Emile Zola

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