How does the author use imagery in the novel, Therese Raquin?

Burial and other funeral imagery are an important part of the novel. The initial description of the Passage du Pont-Neuf presents it as an "underground gallery dimly lit by three funerary lanterns" (Chap. 1, p. 10). When Thérèse first enters the shop that Madame Raquin has purchased for their move to Paris, she feels as if she is walking down into a grave pit. She sees death in the faces of each of the Thursday guests. She even hallucinates that she is "buried in a vault together with mechanical bodies" (Chap. 4, p. 25). She complains to Laurent that she has been buried alive in the shop.

When Madame Raquin has a stroke, she resembles a person who has been buried alive by mistake. Her body is a corpse, although her mind is still alive. In Madame Raquin, the themes of punishment and burial overlap. Her punishment is the burial of her mind in her lifeless body. By being buried alive in this way, she is powerless to seek justice for her son's murder, once she learns the truth.

Camille's corpse plays a large part in the plot of the novel. His presence in Thérèse and Laurent's marriage is the drowned man's own revenge, preventing them from the passionate love they imagined by getting rid of their obstacle. The specter of the corpse is a constant presence in their lives. However, Laurent is also haunted by Camille's actual corpse when he studies it too long at the morgue. He cannot get the picture of the ruined body out of his mind. Eventually, the corpse finds its way into Laurent's paintings, ruining his plans for becoming an artist.