Thème Mauriac Thérèse Desqueyroux

L'avocat ouvrit une porte. Thérèse Desqueyroux, dans ce couloir dérobé du palais de justice, sentit sur sa face la brume et, profondément, l'aspira. Elle avait peur d'être attendue, hésitait à sortir. Un homme, dont le col était relevé, se détacha d'un platane, elle reconnut son père. L'avocat cria: "Non-lieu" et, se retournant vers Thérèse: "Vous pouvez sortir, il n'y a personne."
Elle descendit des marches mouillées. Oui, la petite place semblait déserte. Son père ne l'embrassa pas, ne lui donna pas même un regard ; il interrogeait l'avocat Duros qui répondait à mi-voix, comme s'ils eussent été épiés. Elle entendait confusément leurs propos :
"Je recevrai demain l'avis officiel du non-lieu.
__ Il ne peut plus y avoir de surprise ?
__ Non : les carottes sont cuites, comme on dit.
__ Après la déposition de mon gendre, c'était couru.
__ Couru... couru... On ne sait jamais.
__ Du moment que, de son propre aveu il ne comptait jamais les gouttes...
__ Vous savez, Larroque, dans ces sortes d'affaires, le témoignage de la victime..."
La voix de Thérèse s'éleva :
" Il n'y a pas eu de victime.
__ J'ai voulu dire : victime de son imprudence, madame."
Les deux hommes, un instant, observèrent la jeune femme immobile, serrée dans son manteau, et ce blême visage, qui n'exprimait rien. Elle demanda où était la voiture ; son père l'avait fait attendre sur la route de Budos, en dehors de la ville, pour ne pas attirer l'attention.

François MAURIAC, Thérèse Desqueyroux (1927)

The lawyer opened a door. Standing in the rear corridor of the courthouse, Thérèse Desqueyroux suddenly felt the mist on her face and breathed it in deeply. She was afraid someone might be waiting for her and she was reluctant to go out. A man with his collar turned up stepped out from the shadow of a plane tree. She realized it was her father. The lawyer called out "Case dismissed" and, turning towards Thérèse, he added "You can come out: there's nobody here".

She walked down the damp steps. It was true, the small square seemed deserted. Her father did not kiss her. He did not even look at her but was questioning Duros the lawyer who was answering him in a low voice as if he was afraid they might be overheard. She could vaguely hear what they were saying:

"Tomorrow I shall be officially informed that the case has been dismissed."

"Are you sure there is no risk of last-minute surprises?"

"No, it's in the bag as they say."

"After my son-in-law gave evidence, I suppose it was a foregone conclusion."

"Oh, a foregone conclusion, I wouldn't say that - you can never be sure of anything."

"Yes, but once he'd admitted he never counted his drops..."

"You know Larroque, in cases like this the evidence of the victim..."

Thérèse suddenly spoke out:

"There was no victim."

"I meant: victim of his own carelessness, Madame."

For a moment the two men observed the young woman standing there motionless and huddled up in her coat. Her pale face was quite expressionless. She asked where the carriage was. Her father had told the driver to wait on the outskirts of the town on the road to Budos to avoid attracting attention.

François MAURIAC, Thérèse Desqueyroux (1927)