LOUIS RIEL in CANADIAN LITERATURE
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THE FALSE TWTOR: LOUIS RIEL iN CANADIAN LITERATURE Albert Raimundo Braz A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Centre for Comparative Literature University of Toronto O Copyright by Albert Raimundo Braz (1999) National Library Bibliothèque nationale m*l of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OnawaON K1AON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your lsb Voire rekrsnce Our lilt, Norie tetdfence The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sel1 reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfom, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la fome de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Albert Braz Comparative Literature Ph.D., 1999 University of Toronto The False Traitor: Louis Riel in Canadian Literature The nineteenth-century Métis leader Louis Riel has emerged as one of the rnost popular- and elusive--figures in Canadian culture. Since his hanging for treason in 1885, the self-declared David of the New World has been depicted by Canadian novelists, poets, and playwnghts variously as a traitor to Confederation; a French-Canadian and Catholic martyr; a bloodthirsty rebel; a pan-Arnerican liberator; a pawn of shadowy white forces; a Prairie political maverick; a First Nations hero; an alienated intellectual; a victim of Western industrial progress; and even a Father of Confederation. The primary objective of this thesis is to investigate how a hi~t~~i~al fi yre, someone who supposedly existed in space and time, could be portrayed in such contradictory ways. Especially in light of the fact that most aesthetic representations of Riel bear little resemblance not only to one another but also to their ostensible model, it is suggested that those works are only nominally about the Métis leader himself That is, they reveal less about the politician-mystic than they do about their authors and the society to which they belong. Table of Co~tte~fs .. Abstract ............................................................ ii Acknowledgments.................................................... iv List of Itlustrations.................................................... v Introduction-- The Constructed Real: Histoncal Figures in Literature ................1 Chapter 1- The Mythmaker: Riel Writes Riel ..................................15 Chapter II-- The Traitor: Riel as an Enemy of Confederation ......................50 Chapter III-- The Martyr (1): Riel as an Ethnic and Religious Victim of Confederation................................................... 85 Chapter IV-- The Go-between: Riel as a Cultural Mediator ......................118 Chapter V-- The Martyr (II): Riel as a Sociopolitical Victim of Confederation.................................................. 153 Chapter VI-- The Mysticl Madman: Riel as a Pararational Individual ...............194 Conclusion- Riel. Canadian Patriot in Spite of tiimself ........................246 Bibliography .........................................................269 Acknowledgments Several individuals have assisted me during the course of this work, and for their help I am extremely grateful. First, 1 would îike to thank Professor J. Edward Chamberlin. My thesis adviser, Professor Chambertin was unflagging in his support for my project, even when our interpretations did not seem to coincide. Equally critical, and appreciated, was the encouragement given to me and my work by Professor Roseann Runte. In spite of her busy schedule as President of Victoria University, Professor Runte somehow always found time to discuss Riel and to suggest a way out when nothing seemed to make much sense. Thanks are also in order to Professor Ricardo Sternberg for his interest in my professional career. As well, 1 would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Rosemary Sullivan for her close reading of my thesis, and for her perceptive suggestions on how to improve it. Finally, 1 would like to Say a special thank you to my deCarolyn and to our children Jonathan and Alison, the trio who make everything both possible and worthwhile. List of Illustrations Fig. 1. J.W. Bengough, "A Case of Riel Distress!" Grip 25 October 1873--Gr@ was not paginated, therefore, no page numbers are provided for any of Bengough'scartoons .......................................... Fig. 2. J.W. Bengough, "The Vacant Chair: A Riel Bond of Union." Grip 4Apnl1874................................................. Fig. 3. J.W. Bengough. "Combination Statue in Brass of Riel and Sir John." GriplApril1874............................................. Fig. 4. J.W. Bengough, "Justice Still Unsatisfied." Grip 21 November 1885. ...... Fig. 5. I.W. Bengough. "Another Decoration Now in Order." Grip 22May1886 ................................................ Fig. 6. J.W. Bengough, "A Riel Ugly Position." Grip 29 October 1885. ......... Fig. 7. J.W. Bengough, "Something's Got to Go Soon!" Grip 14November1885............................................ Fig. 8. John Nugent, Statue of Riel [1968]. MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina. Photo by Don Hall. Courtesy of the KacKenzie Art Gallery. ............ Fig. 9. Marcien Lemay, Statue of Riel [197 11. Collège universitaire de Saint- Boniface. Photo by Albert Braz. .................................. Fig. 10. Miguel Joyal, Statue of Riel [1996]. Manitoba Legislature, Winnipeg. PhotobyAlbertBraz ........................................... Introduction The Constructed Real: Historical Figures in Literature . The nice thing about Louis [Riel] was my mother always called him 'real'. Frank Davey (1985) Louis Riel is simultaneously one of the most popular and most elusive figures in Canadian culture. Since his hanging for "high treason" on November 16, 1885 (D. Morton 1974, 371), he has been depicted variously as a traitor to Confederation; a French-Canadian and Catholic martyr; a bloodthirsty rebel; a New World liberator; a pawn of shadowy white forces; a Prairie political maverick; a First Nations hero; a deiuded rnystic; an alienated intellectual; a Mctim of Western industnal progress; and even a Father of Confederation (Osachoff 1982 and 1985; Owrarn 1982; Stanley 1986; Chns Johnson). This tremendous fluidity in the aesthetic representations of the Métis leader suggests that there is no necessary connection between an individual and the manner in which he or she is portrayed by novelists, poets, playwrights, and other artists. Yet the fact that Riel was a historical figure, someone who ostensibly lived in a particular place and time, gives hirn a certain concreteness or realness, to echo Frank Davey (49). The primary objective of this study is to document and analyze the numerous metamorphoses that Riel has undergone in Canadian 2 literature. While the focus is mainly on the contrasting ways he has been conceived by Canadian fiction writers in both French and English, representations in other media and fiorn other countries are also exarnined. The study's central thesis is that the "realness" of historical figures imposes considerable restrictions on those who would write about them, as long as those writers allow the voices of their subjects to emerge. However, the reason that Riel changes so radically over time, and across space, is that most of the purported representations of the Métis politician-myst'iC are not really about him but about their authors and their specific social rcality. Histoncal fiction, a hybrid half of whose name qualifies if not nullifies the other half, is clearly a problematic, even ccimpossible",genre. As a consequence of its dual nature, it is tom between the awareness that it must be anchored in the real and the suspicion that true art is possible only by escaping the real, that a literary work cannot succeed if the author intends to write it with the "Art of Ver~fyingDates in hand" [ 'Yrie de Ver~ficaras Dusna mZo"] (Manzoni 72; Garrett 1085). In the Poetics, Aristotle makes a categorical distinction between history and poetry, with the former dealing with the particular and the latter with the general. In his words, 'The difference between a poet and a historian is this: the histonan relates what has happened, the poet what could happen" (1 8). Although histoncal fiction cm be traced as far back as the Horneric epics, in its modem incarnation, it is a relatively recent phenomenon and is thus not classified by the Greek philosopher. Still, considenng that it combines two seemingly incompatible elements, the particular and the general, "fact" and 'Tnvention", perhaps it is not surprising that it has ofien been dismissed as somehow impure, not quite "a false genre, but a species of a false genre" (Manzoni 64,8 1). As William Styron explains why he subtitled his novel about the slave rebel Nat Turner a ccmeâitationon history," instead of a historical fiction, he wanted to spare his work "the curse of the historical