Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Thérèse Raquin, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Passion and Pleasure
Consequences and Delusion
Dependency and Resentment
Money, Greed, and Class
Summary
Analysis
Laurent would take Thérèse’s money and leave, but he knows she would have to sign it over to him (a stipulation made when Madame Raquin bequeathed her 40,000 francs to her niece). Instead, he announces his intention to retire and rent a studio. Thérèse is against the idea, not wanting him to waste all of her money, but she stops in the middle of denying him the money because he gives her a piercing look—a look she interprets as a threat that he’ll go to the authorities about what really happened to Camille. When she pauses, Madame Raquin jumps in and says that Laurent can certainly retire and rent a studio, effectively spoiling him just like she spoiled Camille.
Laurent and Thérèse are miserable together because they unintentionally remind each other that they killed Camille. To make matters worse, they’re clearly suspicious of each other, as evidenced by the way Thérèse responds to Laurent’s hateful look in this moment. They therefore have an unhealthy amount of power over each other. Instead of comforting one another like they thought they might, they are now beginning to use their power against each other, ultimately creating an even more distressing dynamic.
Themes
Laurent moves into his new studio but doesn’t do any painting for a solid two weeks. Instead, he lounges around, naps, smokes, and generally enjoys some alone time. Eventually, though, he gets so bored that he does start painting. One day, he runs into an old painter friend on a walk. The friend hardly recognizes him, since he looks different—somehow more sophisticated and complex. Laurent invites the friend upstairs to see his paintings, and the friend agrees, though only because he’s curious to hear more about Laurent’s life; he knows the paintings will be bad, since Laurent was never any good as a painter. When he gets upstairs, though, he’s astounded: the paintings are incredible. Laurent’s agony has turned him into a true artist.
Before murdering Camille, Laurent was an untalented painter. Now, though, he seems to have become an admirable artist, suggesting that what he originally lacked was a certain amount of pathos. He was generally happy before murdering Camille, but now that he’s miserable, he’s able to create beautiful art, ultimately implying that meaningful art doesn’t come from a place of pleasure or happiness, but from a darker, more troubled mindset.
Themes
Laurent’s friend compliments his paintings. Before he leaves, though, he mentions one criticism: all of the paintings, each of which features a different person, seem to have the same face. He then takes his leave. Laurent is distressed. He, too, has suspected that the paintings all bear the same face. And the face, of course, is Camille’s. Terrified, Laurent sits down to draw a face—any face, as long as it isn’t Camille’s. He fails. He tries again. He fails. No matter what he does, he can only draw Camille’s face.
Everything Laurent does is entangled with the fact that he murdered Camille. He can’t even pass his time pleasantly painting in his studio without subconsciously thinking about Camille, underscoring just how impossible it is for him to move on from such an atrocious act of cruelty and immorality.
Themes
