Book Review
Birth of Quebec Lit
- Bernard J. Andrès (Editor)
La Conquête des lettres au Québec (1759-1799). PUL (purchase at Amazon.ca)
Reviewed by Constance Cartmill
Historians of Québécois literature routinely ignore the period immediately following the Conquest. This new anthology suggests that the second half of the eighteenth-century was an intense period of cultural and intellectual activity, as the inhabitants of New France made the transition from colonized to conquered people. The question of identity is central to this book, the intent of which is to shed light on the birth of Québécois literature and its institutions. All of the texts chosen for inclusion in this heterogeneous collection partook of the public sphere, even those that were never published. “Lettres” refers to literature in a broad sense, including riddles, songs, and open letters often presented as poems. The anthology is divided chronologically into five parts: the first two sections, “Le trauma de la conquête (1759-1763)” and “Le temps d’une paix (1764-1774),” encompass first-person accounts of the siege of Quebec and the transfer of power between the French and British monarchies; here we find the beginning of a long and troubled relationship between French and English. The third and fourth sections, “L’invasion des lettres (1775-1783)” and “L’occupation de l’espace public (1784-1793),” document an explosion of writing against the back of the American and French Revolutions, a period of intense journalistic activity made possible by the creation of new periodicals. Reactions were divided to the 1775-1776 American incursions into Quebec. The Loyalist Francophone elites condemned the Rebels for their excessive love of Liberty, which led to barbaric excesses and imperialist ambitions. However, popular songs from the period reveal a different point of view: they hint at high-ranking Catholic clergymen accepting bribes from the British authorities in exchange for encouraging the Canadiens to take up arms against the Rebels. However, not all the texts from this period are concerned with political matters: the death of Voltaire gives rise to a lengthy discussion on the merits of the Enlightenment; the publication of a short story leads to a heated debate on plagiarism and literary integrity; numerous exchanges are devoted to women’s rights. Letters written by women seeking the liberation of their unjustly imprisoned husbands or lovers are also included (several prominent men of letters suspected of Rebel sympathies were made an example of until the British government officially recognized American independence). Theatre and education also became controversial topics in late eighteenth-century Quebec: the British military, which had circumvented the Catholic Church’s ban on theatre, opened the door for French-language plays, but a proposal to create a multi-denominational university could not overcome the opposition of the Church. The final years of the eighteenth-century comprise the last section of the anthology: “La valse-hésitation (1793-1799)”. The enthusiasm of young intellectuals for the democratic ideals of the French Revolution began to wane when news spread of the reign of Terror: the Church took advantage of this moment of crisis to reassert its dominance over intellectual life. Hence two sermons are included by Joseph-Octave Plessis, whose superb rhetorical skills helped persuade the Canadiens to accept their English conquerors, thus saving them from the evils of the French Revolution.
Although it is unlikely that this period produced any outstanding writers, the names of two prolific men of letters stand out nonetheless: their stories, strangely complementary, seem to exemplify the tensions of the nascent literary sphere made apparent by this anthology. Henri-Antoine Mézière, born in Montreal, was a staunch supporter of the French Revolution; his numerous writings, highly critical of the English presence in Quebec, led to his forced relocation to France where he spent the rest of his life. Joseph Quesnel, born in France, was forced to remain in Quebec when his ship was seized by the British; there, he became a Loyalist and eventually founded the Théâtre de société de Montréal, becoming a major participant in the cultural life of his adopted country.
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MLA: Cartmill, Constance. Birth of Quebec Lit. canlit.ca. Canadian Literature, 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 20 June 2013.
This review originally appeared in Canadian Literature #196 (Spring 2008), Diasporic Women's Writing. (pg. 113 - 114)
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