Quick Guide: Therese Raquin

By Students' Academy

Camille is Therese’s husband. He happens to be an egocentric person. He is a sickly character. Therese wants to liberate herself from that bond of marriage.

Eventually, when Therese gets an opportunity, she begins her passionate affair with Laurent, who happens to be one of Camille’s friends.

In the preface to this novel, Emile Zola describes that his motive was to study the temperaments of the characters and not characters. It was obviously a quite detached and scientific approach.

Quick Guide: Therese Raquin
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: May 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311231239

Students' Academy

Easy study guides for the students of English literature.

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Quick Guide: Therese Raquin

Copyright

Quick Guide: Therese Raquin

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Chapter One: Introduction

Therese Raquin by French writer Emile Zola was first published in the year 1867. It is both a novel and a play. The play was first performed in the year 1873.

Before being published as a complete novel, the story was originally published in the form of a serial in the journal L’Artiste. In the same year, 1863, it was published in its book format.

Therese Raquin was the first full-length novel of Emile Zola. It is considered to be one of his best novels. It was very well received when it was first published.

It is said that when Emile Zola started writing the story of Therese, the story of people known to her, and her descent into murder and suicide, the author was only twenty seven years old.

Before writing this novel, Zola was in a marketing job, but he left that job in the year 1866. He used to work for a publishing firm named Hachette. He had some experience of book publishing process and marketing.

He left his job to become a full time writer. Within two year, by the end of 1868, when the second edition of "Therese Raquin’ entered its second edition, after the great success of its first edition, Emile Zola had become an infamous name in literary circles.

The story of the novel revolves around a young woman. She happens to be very unhappily married to her first cousin. She was forced into marrying her first cousin by her overbearing aunt who had perhaps meant to do well but it transpires that she had done it with her selfish motives.

Camille is Therese’s husband. He happens to be an egocentric person. He is a sickly character. Therese wants to liberate herself from that bond of marriage.

Eventually, when Therese gets an opportunity, she begins her passionate affair with Laurent, who happens to be one of Camille’s friends.

In the preface to this novel, Emile Zola describes that his motive was to study the temperaments of the characters and not characters. It was obviously a quite detached and scientific approach.

"Therese Raquin is a good example of Naturalism. The story is