Ernest Buckler’s The Mountain and the Valley and Sinclair Ross’s As For Me and My House: Two Cases of Canadian Canon Making A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts In the Department of English University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By Bonnie Kathleen Hughes Copyright Bonnie Kathleen Hughes, August, 2005. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of English University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 i ABSTRACT This is an examination of the critical reception and canonical status of Ernest Buckler’s The Mountain and the Valley and Sinclair Ross’s As For Me and My House. While both novels have been regarded as important works of Canadian literature, As For Me and My House is currently regarded as a canonical novel and The Mountain and the Valley is not. This study examines the notion of the Canadian canon and its relation to Buckler’s and Ross’s novels to show how the specific case of Ross and Buckler illustrates the process of Canadian canon formation. Through a review of the critical work produced on each novel, an understanding of trends in Canadian critical practice and theory, and the application of canon theory, this thesis examines the reasons for the differences in the reception and status of the two works. This thesis argues that the interplay between critical trends, academic interests, and literary value ultimately determines the canonical status of a text. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Francis Zichy, for his assistance and encouragement with my thesis. His suggestions and comments helped me greatly in the development, writing, and re-writing of my thesis. I would also like to thank Dr. Janice Fiamengo who sparked my interest in Canadian literature and issues of canonicity and who is helping me continue to study this area. I am grateful for the support and assistance I received from my family and friends: my parents, Larry and Audrey Hughes, and my dear friends, Garry Drake and Amie Shirkie. Their continued support and suggestions were invaluable to me. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PERMISSION TO USE ................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..............................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... iv 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 2. Ernest Buckler’s The Mountain and the Valley ........................................................ 7 The 1950s and 1960s...................................................................................................7 Early Reviews.......................................................................................................7 The 1960s........................................................................................................... 11 Interpretation of Major Elements ........................................................................ 13 The 1970s ................................................................................................................. 14 Critical Interpretations ........................................................................................ 14 Interpretation of Major Elements ........................................................................ 20 The mid-1980s to the present..................................................................................... 21 Critical Interpretations ........................................................................................ 21 Interpretation of Major Elements ........................................................................ 29 3. Sinclair Ross’s As For Me and My House.............................................................. 30 The 1940s ................................................................................................................. 30 Critical Interpretations ........................................................................................ 30 1941 Reviews ..................................................................................................... 31 Interpretation of Major Elements ........................................................................ 34 The 1950s and late 1960s .......................................................................................... 36 Critical Interpreations ......................................................................................... 36 NCL Release ...................................................................................................... 38 Interpretation of Major Elements ........................................................................ 42 The 1970s ................................................................................................................. 44 Critical Interpreations ......................................................................................... 44 Interpretation of Major Elements ........................................................................ 52 The 1980s ................................................................................................................. 53 Critical Interpreations ......................................................................................... 53 iv Interpretation of Major Elements ........................................................................ 62 The 1990s to the present............................................................................................ 63 Critical Interpreations ......................................................................................... 63 Interpretation of Major Elements ........................................................................ 70 4. Two Cases of Canadian Canon Making .................................................………….72 5. CONCLUSION - Looking Forward....................................................................... 91 WORKS CITED ........................................................................................................... 93 v INTRODUCTION This is a study of the critical reception and canonical status of two Canadian texts, Ernest Buckler’s The Mountain and the Valley (1952) and Sinclair Ross’s As For Me and My House (1941). The fluctuations in the status of each novel can be clearly seen by following the history of the critical reception of each. There are several remarkable similarities in both the personal and writing lives of Buckler and Ross and in the histories of the novels, yet Ross’s novel has been far more widely read and discussed than Buckler’s. Judging from the amount of recent criticism on each novel, As For Me and My House is currently regarded as a canonical novel and The Mountain and the Valley is not. The differences in the reception and status of the two novels raise questions about the nature and motivation of Canadian criticism of Canadian literature and Canadian canon formation. This study will examine the critical reception of The Mountain and the Valley and As For Me and My House to provide a case study of two instances of canon- making and address the larger issues surrounding the making, unmaking, and remaking of the Canadian canon. An examination of the critical reception of As For Me and My House and The Mountain and the Valley reveals that the canonization of a Canadian book is dependent upon many factors. Critical interests and trends in critical practice and theory strongly influence the status of a text. Despite early positive receptions of the novel, critical fashions following the late 1970s did not favour The Mountain and the Valley and, the novel is currently non-canonical. On the other hand, As For Me and My House has benefited from critical trends and, over time, has become established as a canonical text. Another important contributing factor is the literary value of a work, which may be recognized gradually. This case study will argue that the interplay between critical trends, academic interests, and literary value ultimately determines the canonical status of a text. Buckler and Ross have interesting parallels in their personal and literary histories. Both men were born in 1908 and lived in rural