![]() ![]() Zola goes on to describe the Passage du Pont-Neuf as “like some underground gallery dimly lit by three funeral lamps,” another allusion to Therese’s virtual imprisonment. Just as the light is pale and flickering, Therese’s liveliness is repressed. The light that does appear is “only a pale glow falls on the pavement below in dim, flickering pools which sometimes disappear almost completely” (8), suggesting again the gloom that overwhelms any life or passion for Therese, who cannot live freely in her native Algeria. The sky is described as “black and coarsely rendered, as if covered with leprous sores and zigzagged with scars” (7), negative connotations that symbolizes Therese’s unhappy life, marked by her oppressive childhood and arranged marriage.The description of the sky as “covered with leprous sores and zigzagged with scars” is an allusion to the decay of Therese’s spirit and passion, and the emphasis on the sky’s darkness suggests Therese’s inability to escape her situation. Zola starts the novel with the description of the Passage du Pont-Neuf in order to emphasize Therese’s imprisonment. ![]()
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