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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Therese is a spiritual successor to Madame Bovary, trapped in rural France with nothing to exercise her mind and passion. It is arguably a little derivative, but Mauriac imbues the story with Gothic undertones, the redolence of death scenting the pages, climaxing in a kind of psychological horror where Therese is entombed in loneliness and the perceived emptiness of her life a la campagne.
"She stared before her, seeing in her imagination the cage with its innumerable bars, each of which was a living person, a cage full of eyes and ears, in which she would have to spend the whole of her life, squatting motionless, her chin on her knees, her arms clapped about her legs, waiting for death."
I was less interested, however, in Therese's relationship with husband Bertrand than with the half-glimpsed love story between herself and Anne. Regardless of whether or not it could have blossomed into an affaire de coeur, the connection and contrast between Therese and Anne is perhaps the most nuanced aspect of the novel.
The edition I read includes further works about Therese, but after reading Therese and the Doctor I decided not to proceed any further. All the psychological complexity seemed to have vanished, reducing Mauriac's creation to nothing but a lovelorn fool with murderous tendencies.
"She stared before her, seeing in her imagination the cage with its innumerable bars, each of which was a living person, a cage full of eyes and ears, in which she would have to spend the whole of her life, squatting motionless, her chin on her knees, her arms clapped about her legs, waiting for death."
I was less interested, however, in Therese's relationship with husband Bertrand than with the half-glimpsed love story between herself and Anne. Regardless of whether or not it could have blossomed into an affaire de coeur, the connection and contrast between Therese and Anne is perhaps the most nuanced aspect of the novel.
The edition I read includes further works about Therese, but after reading Therese and the Doctor I decided not to proceed any further. All the psychological complexity seemed to have vanished, reducing Mauriac's creation to nothing but a lovelorn fool with murderous tendencies.
Seigneur, ayez pitié, ayez pitié des fous et des folles ! O Créateur ! peut-il exister des monstres aux yeux de celui-là seul qui sait pourquoi ils existent, comment ils se sont faits, et comment ils auraient pu ne pas se faire.
Lord, have pity, have pity on the mad men and women! O Creator! Can those monsters exist in the eyes of The One who knows why they exist, how they created themselves, and how they could not have made themselves any other way.
-Charles Baudelaire
This is the unveiling of Thérèse, an unhappy and discontented woman, damned to eternal solitude.
We see her at the beginning of the story, standing accused of attempting to murder her husband.
As the story unravels, through her own internal monologues and other characters’ perspectives, we come to know her better and understand the circumstances that eventually lead to the accusation.
« Mais qu'a-t-elle donc ? disaient-ils. Pourtant nous la comblons de tout. »
“What’s wrong with her? We give her everything she could possibly want.”
Lord, have pity, have pity on the mad men and women! O Creator! Can those monsters exist in the eyes of The One who knows why they exist, how they created themselves, and how they could not have made themselves any other way.
-Charles Baudelaire
This is the unveiling of Thérèse, an unhappy and discontented woman, damned to eternal solitude.
We see her at the beginning of the story, standing accused of attempting to murder her husband.
As the story unravels, through her own internal monologues and other characters’ perspectives, we come to know her better and understand the circumstances that eventually lead to the accusation.
« Mais qu'a-t-elle donc ? disaient-ils. Pourtant nous la comblons de tout. »
“What’s wrong with her? We give her everything she could possibly want.”
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this novella as a part of a Thérèse collection, but found I couldn't continue with the rest of Mauriac's tales. I found it slow, a little introspective and interesting, but not fast or intriguing enough to find the motivation to give the others a shot.
What I found with this one was a slow crawling, semi-plotless exploration of female life in high class French society. The privilege oozing from most characters in the book wasn't really criticised enough for my liking - in other books of this era, I find that a reader can infer much from action and dialogue, but here, moments sit there to stagnant, without proper guidance from the author.
The parts I liked the most were parts that saw Thérèse struggle as a woman coming into motherhood, which offered interesting portrayal of female loneliness, something that reaches its peak after Bernard imprisons her in her own house. I was reminded of Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper several times during the course of those sections, and that her isolation draws her further away from Bernard, and further towards yearning of freedom.
The morality of the characters in this novella is interesting, but pale in comparison to other French novels I've read carrying similar themes. I thought about the female character of Zola's novels, about their unknown motivations, and how the ambiguous notes of their stories adds to the atmosphere, but doesn't impede it. Here, I find Thérèse's attitude to her actions almost apathetic. Maybe I didn't read it well enough, maybe it didn't catch my focus successfully, but it frustrated me to constantly turn pages to learn very little.
I want to try to return to Mauriac down the line and pick up the full collection and finish what exists of Thérèse's tale. I think I wasn't reading enough into it, and that there is likely reason for this book's acclaim. For now, I'll say that I found it average, and that.
What I found with this one was a slow crawling, semi-plotless exploration of female life in high class French society. The privilege oozing from most characters in the book wasn't really criticised enough for my liking - in other books of this era, I find that a reader can infer much from action and dialogue, but here, moments sit there to stagnant, without proper guidance from the author.
The parts I liked the most were parts that saw Thérèse struggle as a woman coming into motherhood, which offered interesting portrayal of female loneliness, something that reaches its peak after Bernard imprisons her in her own house. I was reminded of Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper several times during the course of those sections, and that her isolation draws her further away from Bernard, and further towards yearning of freedom.
The morality of the characters in this novella is interesting, but pale in comparison to other French novels I've read carrying similar themes. I thought about the female character of Zola's novels, about their unknown motivations, and how the ambiguous notes of their stories adds to the atmosphere, but doesn't impede it. Here, I find Thérèse's attitude to her actions almost apathetic. Maybe I didn't read it well enough, maybe it didn't catch my focus successfully, but it frustrated me to constantly turn pages to learn very little.
I want to try to return to Mauriac down the line and pick up the full collection and finish what exists of Thérèse's tale. I think I wasn't reading enough into it, and that there is likely reason for this book's acclaim. For now, I'll say that I found it average, and that.
(Lido em Maio 2015)
«Na época em que dividíamos, ainda, mesas de bares, falei uma vez com ela do livro Thérèse Desqueyroux, de François Mauriac.
(Sim, esse é mais um salto de qualidade que dou em minhas referências.)
O livro conta a história de uma mulher que envenena seu marido por nenhum motivo concreto, nenhum motivo que pudesse ser dado a outra pessoa, e que essa pessoa pudesse dizer Ah, sim! Entendi!
Ela começa a envenená-lo por acaso, num dia que o vê tomando, distraído, uma dose suplementar de um remédio perigoso.
Ele não morre do envenenamento progressivo. Ela é descoberta, julgada. E é absolvida graças ao testemunho favorável do próprio marido, que a inocenta e a quem ela abandona.
A última cena é ela, feliz, seguindo sem rumo pelas ruas de Paris.
No livro de Mauriac, a verdadeira razão de o personagem Thérèse Desqueyroux tentar matar o marido foi a necessidade, a dela, de liberdade. O personagem do marido, chamado Bernard, personifica a prisão dela numa classe social fechada.»
Elvira Vigna, «Nada a Dizer»
«Na época em que dividíamos, ainda, mesas de bares, falei uma vez com ela do livro Thérèse Desqueyroux, de François Mauriac.
(Sim, esse é mais um salto de qualidade que dou em minhas referências.)
O livro conta a história de uma mulher que envenena seu marido por nenhum motivo concreto, nenhum motivo que pudesse ser dado a outra pessoa, e que essa pessoa pudesse dizer Ah, sim! Entendi!
Ela começa a envenená-lo por acaso, num dia que o vê tomando, distraído, uma dose suplementar de um remédio perigoso.
Ele não morre do envenenamento progressivo. Ela é descoberta, julgada. E é absolvida graças ao testemunho favorável do próprio marido, que a inocenta e a quem ela abandona.
A última cena é ela, feliz, seguindo sem rumo pelas ruas de Paris.
No livro de Mauriac, a verdadeira razão de o personagem Thérèse Desqueyroux tentar matar o marido foi a necessidade, a dela, de liberdade. O personagem do marido, chamado Bernard, personifica a prisão dela numa classe social fechada.»
Elvira Vigna, «Nada a Dizer»
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Medical content, Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Eating disorder, Death of parent