Oppression Of Naturalism In Émile Zola's Novel

The nineteenth century in France was one of the most progressive and transformative eras for literature, science, medicine, architecture, and social and political change. Émile Zola made progressive moves in the second half of the nineteenth century in many ways. Zola was born in 1840, in Paris, he has spend most of his childhood in Aix-en-Provence. Zola lost his father at a young age, just like many of his characters that he would later write about in this novels. He was raised by his mother and his maternal grandparents.

When Zola began writing and working in publishing, he became very interested in science, and began developing his own literary style. When Zola started composing Therese Raquin in 1867, his new literary perspective emerged-Naturalism. …show more content…
One would consider that female adultery was a revolt against female, and marriage oppression, an attempt to at escape from an unhappy marriage. Therese, in her affair with Laurent, shows evidence of wanting to escape her marriage with Camille, and her life in general, which in my opinion is slowly killing her. When Therese and Laurent decide to kill Camille on a small boat on a days out, Therese begins to experience a new marriage, a violent one with Laurent. She is trapped in her second marriage with the constant reminder that she murdered her first husband. However, at first when Camille decided to make Therese his lower, we can see a more wild, and vibrant Therese, who speaks, and criticizes Camille, for his lack of “manly” attributes. She tells Laurent, that her family stole her freedom, and suppressed her true, “wild” nature. Therese enjoys playing the mistress, as she takes on this role as vengeance against her aunt, and husband, taking pleasure of the potential risk of discovery. Therese becomes fearless as the mistress, this may be portrayed as an attempt to exhibit her new found independence in a male-dominated