How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
He had a particular loathing of François, the tabby cat. [...] The cat would look at him with large, round eyes, staring diabolically. It was these eyes, constantly settled on him, that drove the young man mad. [...] He told himself that the cat, like Mme Raquin, knew about the crime and would denounce him some day if he were ever to speak. (30.20)
Laurent's hallucination that François can talk is reminiscent of an earlier scene in the novel, when Thérèse jokes about how François knows of their secret affair. When Laurent kills François to prevent him from revealing the crime—he's totally nuts by this point, in case you can't tell—it's difficult not to read this as a sign of Laurent's feelings about killing Camille. But Zola wants us to suspend our moral judgment. (As if.)