"Therese Raquin"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines "Therese Raquin", a novel by Emile Zola, which was first published in serial form in 1867 under the title of "Un Mariage d'Amour". It looks at how in the novel Zola used the "analytic method" to tell the story in which Therese finds herself. It demonstrates how while the literary ideal of the time was to use the "scientific method" to observe characters' behavior, Zola moves away from this with a moral, unscientific tone. It also discusses how Marcel Carne, a French filmmaker, adapted Zola's novel in his 1953 version of the story.

From the Paper:

"Edward Baron Turk (1989), upon meeting the elderly Carne during the 1980's, professes that the filmmaker saw himself as young. He was moved by the feeling of unfinished work. Thus, despite criticism to the effect that the quality of his films declined during the years both before and after "Therese Raquin", his ambition to make films never did. There is evidence of this in the film itself. The filmmaker recognizes that times have changed and thus the element of suspense is combined with the dark poetry of his previous works. The fact that he never believed his career to be over, moved him to continue exercising his profession in his old age. Even though these films never again attained either the quality or popularity of "Therese Raquin", the fact remains that the filmmaker never lost his enthusiasm for his art or the values he depicted through it. The fact that he was working on a film when he died, demonstrates this."

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