Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

The characters' fates in Thérèse Raquin are supposed to be determined by factors outside of their control—heredity and environment, in particular. So they're developed primary through the actions they commit. But actions in this novel are discussed in a different way than what we normally see in psychological narratives.

Thérèse and Laurent commit adultery because they have to satisfy their animalistic lust (Zola portrays their lust as a "need"). The murder of Camille is also talked about as an inevitable consequence of external pressures: Laurent and Thérèse are prevented from meeting, so they are compelled to remove any obstacle in their way.

Isn't it sort of scary to talk about people as if they have no free will? Doesn't that kind of make Thérèse and Laurent seem like they're not responsible for murdering Camille? For committing adultery? Yikes.

Direct Characterization

Since Zola doesn't spend time elaborating what goes on his characters' heads, he tends to use direct characterization. It's a nicely straightforward way of describing people, after all.

The narrator tells us that Thérèse has a fiery personality and despises her mundane life until she meets Laurent. We accept this, because the narrator told us so.

We also find out immediately that Laurent is a lazy, lustful loafer (try saying that five times fast). We dig this matter-of-fact style of exposition.

Location

Zola is a firm believer in the idea that our environment affects the way we behave. That's why we'd be willing to bet that if Zola lived in our modern times, he'd be the perfect real estate agent. He'd always be spouting the motto, "Location, location, location."

In Thérèse Raquin, the characters' physical surroundings play a huge role in determining their fates. The whole book is intentionally claustrophobic. Thérèse feels utterly stifled by the oppressive atmosphere of the Raquin shop in the Passage du Pont Neuf.

It's partly due to these environmental pressures that Thérèse views Laurent as her escape. Later on, when Thérèse and Laurent are married, they feel trapped in their very own bedroom.

Now the two cannot escape from Camille's ghost. As their surroundings close in on them, these murderers fall deeper and deeper into despair. Aw. Maybe they got what they deserved? You decide.

Physical Appearances

If people's lives are determined by heredity and the environment—which is what author Émile Zola believed—then we've got to talk about physical appearances. Because obviously our genes play a big role in how we look.

Our environments can also alter our appearances, because they change how we feel. Thérèse, we know, has inherited the "boiling blood" of her mother. That's what supposedly gives her such a passionate personality. Enter: environment.

When she's forced to hide behind a mask of passivity, she's not much to look at. But as soon as she is able to release her full sexual energy in the arms of Laurent, Thérèse transforms into one sexy woman.

Physical appearances are also important to the characterization of Camille and Laurent, the yin and yang of Thérèse's love life. Camille is pale, sickly and weak, while Laurent is handsome, muscular, and full of sex appeal. Rawr.

Sex

Sex may be last here, but it is definitely not least in this book. Feel free to read our "Steaminess Rating" section for a more detailed discussion of how sex functions in the novel—but for now, we'll say that sex controls the lives of both Thérèse and Laurent.

They can't seem to live without it. They even murder for it. That is, until after Camille's death. Then sex becomes the one thing that Thérèse and Laurent try to avoid above all else. Murder is a serious mood-killer, we guess.