Thérèse Raquin Language and Communication Quotes
How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
It seemed to them that their looks were penetrating each other's flesh and driving in sharp, clear statements. At times, they thought they could hear one another speaking aloud; their senses were distorted and sight became a kind of hearing, strange and fine; so clearly could they read their thoughts on the other's face, that these thoughts acquired a strange, resonant sound that shook their whole bodies. (21. 18)
After Camille's murder, Thérèse and Laurent develop a strange ability to read each other's silent thoughts. All they can think about is Camille's death, and they find it terrifying that they can see and hear each other's minds.
Quote #2
Mme Raquin was gradually being overtaken by paralysis [...]. The poor old woman was starting to mutter phrases that were not connected to one another, her voice was growing weaker and her limbs were failing one by one. She was turning into a thing. (24.11)
As Mme Raquin slowly loses her ability to speak, she gradually turns into an inanimate object. This seems to suggest that language and communication is an essential part of our human identity, and without it, we're reduced to being mere objects.
Quote #3
The stroke that had been threatening Mme Raquin's health arrived. Suddenly the paralysis, which for several months had been creeping along her limbs [...], seized her by the throat and immobilized her body. [...] Her tongue had been turned to stone, her hands and feet had stiffened. (26.1)
Mme Raquin's stroke results in both paralysis and muteness. The image of her tongue turning to stone also suggests that Mme Raquin has been reduced to a thing, an immobile statue.
Quote #4
For a few days, Mme Raquin could still use her hands, so she was able to write on a slate and ask for what she needed; then her hands died and she was unable to lift up or hold a pencil. All that was left after that was the language of her eyes and her niece had to guess what she wanted. (26.5)
It is interesting here that the narrator tells us Mme Raquin still has the "language of her eyes." Mme Raquin isn't actually able to communicate a great deal through her eyes, so it's ambiguous whether her eyes can be seen as an effective tool of communication.
Quote #5
Grivet had an obsession: he insisted that he had a perfect understanding with Mme Raquin and that she could not look at him without his at once knowing what she meant. That was another sign of how considerate he was – except that, each time, Grivet got it wrong. (26.8)
Grivet's absurd claim of being able to understand Mme Raquin merely by looking at her represents one of the more humorous examples of miscommunication in the novel.
Quote #6
Realizing that her tongue was quite dead, she tried out a new language. By an incredible exercise of will, she managed as it were to galvanize her right hand [...] (27.13)
After Mme Raquin loses her ability to speak, she is forced to adapt to her language loss using other means of communication. Here she tries on a "new language" by forcing her hand to come alive again so that she can scrawl out her message.
Quote #7
But now that she had heard everything and understood everything, she was forced to remain motionless and silent. [...] She made superhuman efforts to lift the weight that was oppressing her, to unblock her throat [...]. But it was in vain that she struggled with the last of her energy: she felt her tongue cold against her palate [...]. She was held rigid by the powerlessness of a corpse. (26.17)
Mme Raquin is able to exert an extreme effort of willpower to reanimate her paralyzed hand (one of the few instances in the novel where Zola allows his character to have free will). However, before Mme Raquin is able to communicate her message, her hand stiffens again, highlighting the challenges inherent in any act of communication.
Quote #8
[Grivet] thought that the moment had come to retrieve his reputation for infallibility by completing Mme Raquin's unfinished sentence. While they were searching for the meaning of the words, he said: "It's quite clear. I can guess the whole sentence in Madame's eyes. She doesn't have to write it on the table for me; just one look will suffice. What she wanted to say was: 'Thérèse and Laurent are taking good care of me.'" (27. 33)
Grivet's misinterpretation of Mme Raquin's message marks the most supreme moment of irony in the novel. The great tragedy here is that due to Mme Raquin's inability to speak, she is unable to denounce the murderers and avenge her son's death.
Quote #9
She would have liked to reply; some things that her niece said brought crushing responses to her lips, but she had to remain silent, allowing Thérèse to plead her case without ever interrupting her. Her inability to cry out or to stop her ears filled her with inexpressible torment. (29. 6)
When Thérèse convinces herself that Mme Raquin has forgiven her, poor Mme Raquin is trapped in her silence and unable to speak her true feelings.
Quote #10
She became the plaything of Camille's murderers, a doll whom they dressed, [...] and used according to their needs and whims. [...] What made her most angry was the frightful mockery of this young woman who claimed to read feelings of mercy in her look, when she would have liked with a look to strike the criminal down. (29.10)
After Mme Raquin loses her speech, Thérèse and Laurent treat her like a "plaything," a lifeless object. The implication here is that language is closely linked to our sense of identity, and that without language, we are reduced to the state of speechless animals.