The ''roman du terroir'' (rural novel) was strongly present in French
Quebec literature
This is an article about literature in Quebec.
16th and 17th centuries
During this period, the society of New France was being built with great difficulty. The French merchants contracted to transport colonists did not respect their end of t ...
from 1846 to 1945. It had as its goal the celebration of rural life during a period of rapid industrialization. The clergy and the state encouraged this type of literature; in fact, the moral conservatism of the ''roman du terroir'' "contrasts starkly" with the trends in the literature of France at the time. The Québécois establishment were hoping that support for this type of novel would strengthen Québécois morality, and perhaps halt an exodus of French Québécois from rural farming areas to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and the textile factories of
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
.
Values
The moral mission of the ''romans du terroir'' was set out by
Abbé Casgrain, a member of the
École patriotique (
fr). The novels emphasized four prominent values:
# the rural homestead (agriculture),
# the family,
# the language, and
# religion.
The novels idealized a bond with the homestead and farm life. The healthier "natural" life of the farm was contrasted with the "decadence" of the city. Above all, this type of novel revolved around continuity, traditions, and the passing down of values. Patrice Lacombe's (
fr) ''The Paternal Farm'' (1846) is considered the first of this type of novel. The most popular example is ''
Maria Chapdelaine
''Maria Chapdelaine'' is a romance novel written in 1913 by the Breton writer Louis Hémon, who was then residing in Quebec.Guy Laflèche. Polémiques'. Editions du Singulier; 1992. . p. 126 – 128. Aimed at young French and Quebecois people, ...
'' by
Louis Hémon
Louis Hémon (12 October 1880 – 8 July 1913), was a French writer best known for his novel ''Maria Chapdelaine''.
Biography
He was born in Brest, France. In Paris, where he resided with his family, he was enrolled in the Montaigne and Louis ...
, which was widely translated and became well-known across Canada during the early 20th century. ''
Trente arpents'' (1938) by
Ringuet is another notable example.
The ''roman du terroir'' more or less disappeared during the 1940s, when novels about urban life became widely read, such as those by
Gabrielle Roy
Gabrielle Roy (March 22, 1909July 13, 1983) was a Canadian author from St. Boniface, Manitoba and one of the major figures in French Canadian literature.
Early life
Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, an ...
and André Langevin (
fr);
is generally considered to be the last influential writer of ''romans du terroir'' during this period of transition.
[ William H. New, ''The Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada''. .]
Anti-terroir
Traces of the influence of the ''roman du terroir'' can be found in Québécois literature and culture today, sometimes nostalgic.
At the same time, many novels are written in reaction against the ''roman du terroir'' style,
maintaining the rural setting but exposing the sordid side of life in the countryside that was often culturally and economically impoverished.
Among the "anti-terroirs" are ''Un Homme et son péché'' by
,
[Claude-Henri Grignon]
at The Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage.
Available fo ...
. ''La Scouine'' by
Albert Laberge (
fr) and ''
Une saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel
''A Season in the Life of Emmanuel'' (french: Une saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel) is a French Canadian novel by Marie-Claire Blais, published in 1965.[Marie-Claire Blais
Marie-Claire Blais (5 October 1939 – 30 November 2021) was a Canadian writer, novelist, poet, and playwright from the province of Québec. In a career spanning seventy years, she wrote novels, plays, collections of poetry and fiction, newspa ...]
. The novel ''Marie Calumet'' (
fr), by Rodolphe Girard (
fr), while sometimes being considered a typical example of the ''roman du terroir'', also possesses some characteristics of the "anti-terroir". In effect, Girard lightly mocks the clergy in the novel.
See also
*
Mon oncle Antoine, coming of age in rural Quebec
References
{{Reflist, 30em
French-language literature in Canada