Thérèse Raquin: Analysis of Major Characters
"Thérèse Raquin" is a novel by Émile Zola that explores complex human emotions and moral dilemmas through its major characters. The story revolves around Thérèse, a young woman trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly husband, Camille, and the subsequent affair she engages in with Laurent, Camille's charismatic friend. Madame Raquin, Camille's mother, is a significant figure as her devotion to her son leads her to facilitate the couple's union, unaware of their dark secret. The plot intensifies when Camille's accidental death, orchestrated by Thérèse and Laurent, unleashes a torrent of guilt and psychological torment for both lovers.
As the narrative unfolds, the characters grapple with their actions and the consequences that follow. Thérèse's passions awaken through her affair, but this newfound intensity quickly deteriorates into self-loathing and despair. Camille is portrayed as a feeble character, blissfully oblivious to the betrayal and ultimately meeting a tragic end. Laurent, initially captivated by Thérèse's allure, becomes haunted by guilt after the murder, leading to a shared demise with Thérèse in a tragic conclusion.
The story also features supporting characters like Michaud, a retired police superintendent, and Grivet, Camille's supervisor, who represent societal norms and perceptions, often oblivious to the underlying tension between Thérèse and Laurent. Together, these characters create a rich tapestry of human experience, examining themes of love, guilt, and the psychological complexity of relationships.
Thérèse Raquin: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Émile Zola
First published: Un Mariage d'amour, 1867, serial; Thérèse Raquin, 1867, book (English translation, 1881)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Paris, France
Plot: Naturalism
Time: The Second Empire (1852–1870)
Madame Raquin (rah-KAN), a plump, sixty-year-old, doting mother who centers her life on her son, Camille, and gratifies his every whim. When he decides to go to Paris to look for a new position, she leaves her comfortable country retirement at Vernon and uses a portion of her savings to rent a miserable little haberdashery on a wretched Left Bank alley. Camille, his mother, and his wife, Thérèse, live a life of unbroken plainness and regularity until they are enlivened by Camille's vivacious coworker and friend, Laurent. After the seemingly accidental death of Camille, Madame Raquin's sorrow eventually is tempered by her apparently devoted daughter-in-law, Thérèse, and the thoughtful Laurent. She is maneuvered into suggesting their marriage. At first, they guard the secret of their culpability for Camille's death and hide their psychological torment from her. After Madame Raquin suffers a progressively debilitating paralysis, which leaves her unable to move or speak, Laurent, in one of his regular anguished and angry bouts with Thérèse, lets the truth slip out in front of the invalid. Unable to communicate the awful truth to the members of the Thursday night gatherings, Madame Raquin festers in her hatred, relishing the destructive behavior of Thérèse and Laurent. She has the ultimate satisfaction of witnessing their double suicide.
Thérèse Raquin (tay-REHZ), the twenty-eight-year-old daughter of Madame Raquin's brother, Captain Degans. He left Thérèse to her aunt's care after the death of the toddler's Algerian mother. Thérèse, a strong and lissome person, has fine features, with dark hair and eyes. Madame Raquin decides that her niece and ward should marry her son, Camille. Although she is deeply repelled by Camille's sickly smell and touch, the passive Thérèse acquiesces. Without protest, she gives up the life in the country, which she loved, for the dismal shop and apartment in Paris. She molders away until her passionate nature is brought to life and unleashed by the advances of Laurent. When their secret but tempestuous affair is threatened by lack of opportunity, it is she who suggests the murder of her husband. After Camille's death, their ardor cools, and in its place grows guilt. They hope that their marriage will bring peace; instead, it brings greater guilt and psychological anguish. They cannot stand to touch each other, and the two engage in protracted bouts of hateful recrimination. Unable to find peace in dissipation, Thérèse, in despair, decides to escape Laurent and her own demons by killing him. Laurent, overwrought by guilt and haunted by the specter of Camille, has decided to poison her at precisely the same time. When they discover their mutual intent, they embrace. Thérèse takes the glass of poisoned water, drinks half, and hands it to Laurent, who consumes the remainder.
Camille Raquin (kah-MEEL), a thirty-year-old clerk. Camille is Madame Raquin's only son, whom she has over-protected because of his frail health. He is a slight, pale, and listless creature with colorless hair and an almost beardless but blotchy face, a mentally dull person devoid of imagination and passion. His only ambition is fulfilled when he obtains a clerical post with the Orleans Railway. He admires the elemental and vivacious Laurent, whom he introduces to his wife and mother. Completely unaware that Laurent has seduced Thérèse, Camille continues to bring him into his household. He does not suspect the fate that is in store for him when he suggests a walk in the country. He allows himself, despite his terror of water, to be shamed into a skiff on the Seine. As Laurent wrestles him out of the boat, Camille takes a deep bite out of his attacker's neck, thus leaving a lasting reminder of the deed.
Laurent (loh-RAHN), the tall, square-shouldered, and earthy son of a peasant, who attended school at Vernon with Camille and Thérèse. He went to Paris to study law but concentrated instead on his own ease and enjoyment until his father cut off his subsidies. Attracted by the bohemian lifestyle, he tried his hand at art. His lack of talent forces him to take a job at the office of the Orleans Railway. When he meets Thérèse, he regards her as an easy and insignificant conquest. Her unleashed animality, however, captivates him and awakens in him a latent sensitivity. After drowning Camille, Laurent goes daily to the morgue to look for his body. When the body finally is discovered and displayed, the bloated, decomposing horror of the corpse is deeply etched on Laurent's mind, and the recurring memory consumes him with guilt.
Michaud (mee-SHOH), a retired police superintendent, an old friend of Madame Raquin. He had retired to Paris after having been stationed in Vernon. After a chance meeting with Madame Raquin, the pasty and blotched-faced Michaud becomes a regular guest at her apartment on Thursday evenings, when the Raquins and their guests share tea, conversation, and dominoes. After the murder of Camille, Laurent goes immediately to Michaud, ostensibly for assistance in breaking the news to Madame Raquin. Michaud, whose primary concern is to continue his comfortable Thursday evenings, suspects nothing and gives his support to Laurent's version of the tragedy. He is manipulated into suggesting to Madame Raquin that the apparently pining Thérèse should marry and that the obvious choice is Laurent.
Grivet (gree-VAY), an old employee of the Orleans Railway, Camille's supervisor, and a regular at the Thursday night gatherings. Grivet has narrow features and thin lips but round eyes. The inner turmoil and growing loathing of Thérèse and Laurent for each other remains hidden from him and from the others. His lack of perception and self-centeredness are especially evident when he presumes, always erroneously, to be able to understand the unspoken wishes of Madame Raquin after her paralysis.
Olivier (oh-lee-VYAY), Michaud's son, another habitual participant at the Thursday night gatherings. A thirty-year-old, tall, lean, angular, arrogant, and egotistical chief clerk in the prefecture of police's Department of Public Order and Safety, Olivier unwittingly helps to deflect any possible suspicion from the murderers.
Suzanne, Olivier's small and flabby-faced wife, also a Thursday night regular. An intellectually dull and physically frail person of unattractive appearance, she idolizes Thérèse's vivacity.