Why it was banned
Zola's Thérèse Raquin was placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum in 1868, a year after publication. The Church condemned its Naturalist portrayal of adultery, murder, and psychological disintegration without moral redemption, and its implicit argument that human behaviour is determined by biology and environment rather than sin and free will. The novel's rejection of divine providence in favour of determinism was theologically intolerable. It remained on the Index until 1966.
Bans
| Country | Year | Reasons | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vatican City (Holy See) | 1868lifted | MoralSexual | ||
| Added to the Index in 1868 for Naturalist immorality and biological determinism. On the Index until 1966. | ||||
