Thérèse Raquin: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

A week after the wedding, Camille decides that he and Thérèse must move to Paris. Madame Raquin is distraught. She already planned to grow old in their house on the Seine and hasn’t accounted for the drastic change that will surely come about if Camille moves away. But Camille whines and threatens to make himself sick if she doesn’t go along with the idea, so she relents. She decides to return to the haberdashery business, opening a small shop in Paris, where she and Thérèse can work while Camille does whatever he wants—walk around Paris, for instance, or maybe find a job. 

Camille is intent on finding a job in Paris. He’s obsessed with the idea of working for a large company, coveting the image of himself sitting at a desk with a fancy pen behind his ear. Madame Raquin goes along with his fantasy, and nobody asks Thérèse what she thinks—they’re so accustomed to her docile obedience that it never occurs to them to ask for her opinion.

Madame Raquin goes to Paris and finds a shop in the dingy corridor known as Passage du Pont-Neuf. It’s old and grimy, but she gets it for a good price—so good, in fact, that she knows that, between the profits of the haberdashery business and Camille’s job, they’ll be able to sustain themselves without dipping into her pension, thus leaving a healthy inheritance for future grandchildren. Excited by such an idea, she leaves Paris with a romanticized idea of the shop, returning to Camille and Thérèse with great things to say about the little store.

When Thérèse, Camille, and Madame Raquin move into the shop, Thérèse is dismayed. It’s nothing like Madame Raquin said. She especially hates the depressing apartment above the store, but Camille doesn’t care. He says they’ll hardly spend any time in the apartment anyway. During the days, he claims, he’ll be off at work while Madame Raquin and Thérèse keep each other company in the shop. In truth, though, he never would accept such terrible accommodations if he weren’t so set on working in a nice office somewhere in the city. Madame Raquin, for her part, is surprised by Thérèse’s immediate resignation to their new reality. Whenever Madame Raquin suggests something that might improve the space, Thérèse shrugs it off, saying they don’t need “luxuries.”

It takes Camille a month to find a job. He spends his days walking through Paris, actively avoiding the depressing haberdashery. Finally, he finds an office job at the Orleans Railway and is delighted to spend the vast majority of his time there. He even walks home leisurely, looking at the various landmarks in Paris. When he’s not working, he spends his time reading thick history books, thinking he’s vastly expanding his intelligence. He tries to get Thérèse to take an interest in these books, but she doesn’t care about them—she’d rather sit completely still and let her mind drift, dedicating herself to the task of becoming a completely “passive instrument.” Three years pass like this, with Thérèse feeling like her life will continue in this joyless way forever.