UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff MMoonnttaannaa SScchhoollaarrWWoorrkkss aatt UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff MMoonnttaannaa Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Graduate School Professional Papers 1979 SSttuuddyy ooff tthhee tthheemmee ooff eessttrraannggeemmeenntt iinn tthhee wwoorrkkss ooff AAnnnnee HHeebbeerrtt Theone J. Hewitt The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits you. RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Hewitt, Theone J., "Study of the theme of estrangement in the works of Anne Hebert" (1979). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 3758. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/3758 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 THIS IS AN UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT IN WHICH COPYRIGHT SUB­ SISTS. ANY FURTHER REPRINTING OF ITS CONTENTS MUST BE APPROVED BY THE AUTHOR. MANSFIELD LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA DATE: 19 7 9 A STUDY OF THE THEME OF ESTRANGEMENT IN THE WORKS OF / ANNE HEBERT By Theone J. Hewitt B.A., Concordia College, 1965 Presented in partial fulfillment of the. requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1979 Approved by: Demi, Graduate Scnool 6 Date UMI Number: EP35402 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. DkHMrtatiert R&fisMng UMI EP35402 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Hewitt, Theone J., M.A., December 14, 1979 French A Study of the Theme of Estrangement in the Works of Anne Hebert jiv (131 pp.) Director: Dr. Maureen Cheney-Curnow In the literary history of French Canada, Anne Hebert a contemporary French-Canadian writer, comes after the poet Saint-Denys Garneau (1943) and before the more recent writers of the peaceful revolu­ tion. Her works represent a break from the conservative religious society of French Canada. By questionning traditional values and by examining the role of the individual in a social system, Anne Hebert's works reflect contemporary issues and dilemmas which extend beyond the area of French Canada. This thesis is an examination of the theme of estrangement in Hebert's works. The theme of estrangement, which is present in all of her works, accentuates aloofness and indifference towards living which leads to harsh and tragic results. A rejection of this sterile condition of existence becomes an affirmation of living in the present and an acknowledgement of future possibilities. In this thesis the primary emphasis is on her three novels: Les Chambres de bois, Kamouraska, and Les Enfants du sabbat; and her short story collection, Le Torrent. The secondary emphasis is on her three plays: Le Temps sauvage, La Merciere assassinee, and Les Invites au proces; and her collections of poetry. Chapter I provides an intro­ duction to Anne Hebert, defines estrangement as it is used in this thesis and gives the,plot summaries of each of her works. Chapter II describes the elements of estrangement as experienced in the spatial setting—the natural environment and the personal habitation. The temporal setting, emphasizing the magnetism of the past—an estrange­ ment from the present—is discussed in Chapter III. Chapter IV examines the estrangement within the social setting. This chapter reveals how a society assumes the responsibility of determining those who will be accepted and those who will be rejected. In this way, the various classes of society estrange themselves from each other and become ineffectual. Finally Chapter V discusses the personal relationships of the individual characters and how these relation­ ships, both family and non-family, become estranged. The ultimate form of estrangement in Anne Hebert's works is alienation from life—a culmination of all aspects of estrangement within the complete setting: spatio-temporal, social, and personal. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction to Anne Hebert 1 Definition of Estrangement 5 Plot summaries of Anne Hebert's works 8 II. THE ESTRANGEMENT WITHIN THE SPATIAL SETTING 21 III. THE ESTRANGEMENT WITHIN THE TEMPORAL SETTING 54 IV. THE ESTRANGEMENT WITHIN THE SOCIAL SETTING 71 V. THE ESTRANGEMENT WITHIN PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS 98 CONCLUSION 127 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 130 i CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO ANNE HEBERT A demand, a revolt, a wish for liberation through words what has writing been for Anne Hebert? This question was asked of her in an interview published in the December, 1978 issue of Quebec franc^ais. Her response was that writing has been for her a need she does not want to deny and that it has always been a very strong desire.^ From the date of her first publication, a collection of poems (Les Songes en equilibre, 1942), the literary prestige of this contemporary French- Canadian writer has steadily grown. Her poetry, short stories, novels, and plays attest to the versatility of her work. Through transla­ tions into several languages, the recognition of the work of Anne Hebert is international. Anne Hebert was born in 1916, the eldest of four children, in Saint-Catherine-de-Frossambault near Quebec City. The influence exerted by her father, Maurice-Lang Hebert, himself a poet and literary critic, was considerable. Concerning the encouragement her father gave her with her writing Anne Hebert says: Mon pere; il etait formidable. C'est si facile de decourager des enfants, de rire, par exenf>le. II se promenait avec mes premiers poemes dans un calepin dans sa poche et montrait ^a aux amis.^ 1-Cecile Dub^, Maurice Emond, and Christian Vandendorpe, "Anne Hebert Entrevue," Quebec frangais, Decembre, 1978, p.33. ^Dube, Emond, and Vandendorpe, p.34. 1 2 The formal education of Anne Hebert was completed in Quebec at the College Notre-Dame-de-Bellevue and at the College Merici. After the publication of her first collection of poems, for which she received the "Prix David," Hebert worked for Radio-Canada and also for the National Film Office as a script-writer and editor. As a result of a scholarship sponsored by the Societe royale de Canada, Hebert traveled to France for the first time in 1954. She lived alternately between France and Canada until 1965 when her mother died. She says of her native Quebec: II y a un noyau, quelque chose de tres sur qui ne change pas, qui ne bouge pas: toute mon experience que j'ai eue de ce pays, les amis qui nous marquent le plus, notre enfance et notre jeunesse. J'ai ete faite par ce pays-la.^ By 1979 Hebert was living in Paris, making periodic visits to Quebec. This arrangement is due primarily to the fact that most of her works have been published in France. Editions de Seuil in Paris accepted for publication her novel Les Chambres de bois, begun in 1955; the short story collection Le Torrent and another collection of poems, Le Tombeau des rois, were published by Seuil. In addition to the above mentioned works of Hebert, she has written two other novels. Kamouraska (1970) has been made into a film directed by Claude Jutra with Genevieve Bujold in the leading role of Elisabeth d'Aulnieres; the third novel, Les Enfants du sabbat was published in 1975. A collection of her plays, Le^ Temps sauvage, La Merciere assassinee, and Les Invites au proces was published in 1968. ^Dube, Emond, and Vandendorpe, p. 35. 3 Anne Hebert has received several literary prizes for her writing, including the "Prix de l'Academie fran^aise" in 1976; in 1978 she was once again awarded the "Prix David," this time for the entire assemblage of her work. In 1969 the University of Toronto granted her a doctorate honoris causa. Because of an education which was more traditionally European than American, Hebert has a broad literary background. Her poetry reflects elements of symbolism associated with Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Baudelaire. The stark realism of her short stories and novels seems influenced by Zola and the school of naturalism. Man's isolation within a social structure and his need to establish an identity seems related to the philosophy of Camus.^ in addition, her psychological penetration ressembles that of Nathalie Sarrault and the new novel. Anne Hebert n'a nullement 1'intention de peindre les moeurs d'une societe, d'ironiser sur des institutions, ou de decrire les usages d'une grande famille. Elle n'ecrit pas non plus un roman de 1'action pas plus qu'elle ne tente 1'analyse d'un caractere dont les contours seraient si bien definis qu'on puisse en tirer un 'type' universel.^ The necessity of breaking the solitude and bringing to life the complete character of French-Canada has caused an expansion of the French-Canadian literary tradition which existed prior to Hebert. This prior tradition depicted the rural Canadian life as one of peaceful harmony with the land. This tradition is typified by Gabrielle Roy's La Petite poule d'eau. The family was the social center, unified by the religious practices of Catholicism. This tradition was disrupted ^Pierre Page, Anne Hebert (Montreal: Fides, 1965), p. 41. Spage, p. 42.