Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola (Book Analysis)
Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola (Book Analysis)
Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
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This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, including madness, crime and guilt. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.
This clear and detailed 34-page reading guide is structured as follows:
- Biography of Émile Zola
- Presentation of Thérèse Raquin
- Summary of Thérèse Raquin
- Character study
- Thérèse Raquin
- Laurent
- Camille Raquin
- Madame Raquin
- The cat François
- Analysis of Thérèse Raquin
- Zola: a scientific writer
- Elements of the detective novel
- Apparently fantastic elements
- A novel of madness
- A scandalous book
About Thérèse Raquin
Thérèse Raquin was first published in 1867 and was Émile Zola’s first successful novel. It provides a demonstration of his naturalistic theory of writing, which he later developed further in his Les Rougon-Macquart cycle, as the two main characters are driven by passion and determinism to commit a terrible crime. This is followed by crushing guilt, fear and hatred which drive the protagonists to madness.
Although Thérèse Raquin was criticized as unwholesome and corrupt when it was first published, it remains one of Zola’s most memorable novels.
About Émile Zola
The novelist and journalist Émile Zola was one of the most celebrated writers of 19th century France. He was the leading figure of the literary school of naturalism, which drew on the scientific advances of the time and sought to explain human behaviour through meticulous observation. He is best known for Les Rougon-Macquart, an ambitious cycle of 20 novels which tells the story of one extended family under the Second French Empire and which illustrates his approach to literature.
Zola was also an influential social thinker: he vocally condemned the Dreyfus affair, and his famous article J’accuse played a major role in the eventual exoneration of the Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus.
Product details
ISBN | 9782806295620 |
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Publisher | Plurilingua Publishing |
Collection | Brightsummaries.com |
Format | |
Pages | 34 |
File size | 1.2 MB |