We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(6) Tree Line
This page-turner does present certain challenges to the reader, even though the plot's very easy to follow. At first, when we read Thérèse Raquin, we're all, "Oh, this is just a run-of-the-mill tale of adultery and murder."
And it's true. The storyline isn't all that original. But it is important to remember that Zola had a very specific (and groundbreaking) project in mind when he wrote the novel.
It isn't often that authors explicitly tell us what their intentions were behind their works. And Zola did exactly that, so his "Preface" is key to understanding the complexity behind Thérèse Raquin.
In it, Zola claims that he didn't want Thérèse Raquin to be read as a novel in the typical sense. He wanted it to be read as a scientific experiment, or what he calls a "study of temperaments." So, what's tricky about this book is that literature and science blend together like milk in coffee.
And we're left to figure out what it all means. Why did Zola care so much about us reading this book as a "study"? Why did he want to blur the line between science and literature? How does his project succeed? How does it fail?
Big questions, Shmoopers. Big questions. So that's why we've given this one a little higher rating on our Tough-o-Meter. Consider yourselves warned.