Remittance Men, Romantics, and Regular Guys: the Image of British Immigrants in Popular Western Canadian Fiction by Frances W
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·, • / Remittance Men, Romantics, and Regular Guys: The Image of British Immigrants in Popular Western Canadian Fiction by Frances W. Kaye Paul Voisey's sLUdy Vulcan, definitive Americans Itnew lhey rould in so many a~, is no less 5(} when il withstand j[ without suffering comes to undentanding the reputation of ~a\ damage. British seWers among western Canadians and other North Americans. On one hand, InA Fltvtne/ Shir1& Libmy, her study the Canadians "considered Englishmen the of Britisb women wbo emigrated to lbe moS! ine:qx:rieneed, incompetent farmers of Canadian West, Susan Jackel discusses tbc all, and they revelled in tales thal illustrated phenomenon of "NO English Need Apply" the fael.· On the Olher hand, they in much tbe same tenns as does Yoisey, welcomed them as lrinsmen. Many of the making a distinction between tbc helpless English were, in fact, inexperienced and hapless English immigrants and those farmers,and although their rants contained who worked hard and SOOn fitted intO their many lower middle elass immigrants as well adopted communities. Otber prominent as the UbiqUitous "remitlance men," English historians of the prairies, including R. accents and reserve often gained the DougJ~ Francis, Howard Palmer, aod the unprctemious immigram as well the magisterial W.L Morton, have aJ.q) talked repulation of being snooty and abOut the paradooc.al assimilation of the undemocratic. Ac; Yoisey says: Britisb on the prairies. t In tbis paper I have discussed the Ridicule 5elVed to remind British images of tbe Britisb in the popUlar immigrants thal while tbey might literature (fiction and joumalisom) of tbe repre.'ient the ideal racial rype, Canadian West in the first third of tbis Englisb-speaking Nortb century. Popular literature, in ilS unabashed Americans stood as tbeir equals use of slereotypes, allows tbe reader to see in that respect and could teacb types rather than complex, individualized tbem a thing or two besides. BUI characters. And works wnllen before 1929 any bostility dir«:led towards reflect the boomer spirit of the West Englishmen cannOl be taken too before tbe Dept"esr.ion and DU5I. Bowl seriously. North Americans never (lbough western Canada suffered an ~ punished them socially. They deprCMian in the twenties), in tbe earl}' welcomed tbem into all local years of 5eulement, wben popular YoQI'Es, organiultions and awarded them explaining the West both 10 i15 new positions of leadersbip inbabitanLs and to interested parties in the disproportionate to their relatively east or aCTOliS the Atlantic, enjoyed a small numbers. Thus, they could flourishing market. I have made oo:asional be made the bun of pranks and references to later, more serious YoQI'Es, tall tales because Norlh however, wben they &hed panicular lig.ht on 2 a su bject. l have looked al Ibe works of the Australia, and judging by some of two man popular western Canadian lbe re&ulU our cousin had an novelisu of the fint decades of this century, unfair adYantage mer us. Nellie McClung and RalPh Connor, and af the popular joumalist.s identified by SU!I3n How we, born Canadians, detested Jackel. ! have also included two 1~[ I"'~ English remittance men! The l.oown novel/; thaI are partieularly an)cu!ale Damltor. Aleta, explains tllat Jobn is rude aOOuI perception:> of Brilish ~tt1ers, and scornful of ber falber, proclaiming tbat Francis Marion Beynon's A/era Dey and colonials know only how "to plough a May Aorence WeUer's Redgold. The straight furrow." This discourtesy and [OllTlef haa recently been reprimed and u.ldemocratic judging leads the family and enj~ a rair amount of critical interest; the iu neighbol1; to refuse to bire Englisb latter w& "canadian Novel of the Year" \lIOrkers when men of arry other nationality when it ~ originally publi&hed. I have can be found. Aleta concludes ber omitted a number of boclts and aurhol"li di..""ussion: whale portrayals of British seWers were not as vNid and detailed. My choice of texts, 1 am sorry for lhar.e Englisb then, is idio6yncralic but nDt arbitrary. remittance men now, at a For the most part, my research has distance of years from contact lumed up English men and women. The with tbem. Our crude 1'111}' of occasional ScC( is rarely distinguished from Uving must have been as the English except [Dr Ihe frequent use of distasteful to them as their the sLagey "Hoot, Mon" accent. ·Shanty" avowed contempt for everything lrM, al50 dialect characters, appear 8lI we did, thOught and had w& to comic relief. Unlilr:e the English and the us. 2 SCOO and lhe Protestant IrISh, the Catbolic dialect Irisb are usually lower class town or Beynon makes it elear that Aleta's city dwellers ratber than fannel1;. My prejudice is not against Englishmen ~ researcb, While not exhauSlive, did not Englishmen but only as people woo discoYer arry seUlel1; defmitely identifiecl as disPArage Canadians as colonials in Webh. (Susan Jackel idtntifiecl the same comPArison to a "rememberecl" England pattern in her study.) that never was. Aleta eventually falls for The remittance man is by far tbe most the Scol McNair, a love affair that allows frequent stock character. Although there Beynon 10 deal witb a more complex image w& otten discrimination againt.t the EnglWl of the Britoo in western Canada. for tbeir condescension and class Nelly McClung'S portrait of Arthur consciousness, as well as tbe careleMness Wemys.'l in Sowing Seech in Drmny sbows and ineplne&!i of tbe SlerefJtypical ne'er the combination of admiration and do'weU remittance man, tbis attitude is contempt thaI the Canadian felt for the rarely ref\ectecl in tbe literature. Francis English. As Pearl, tbe beroine of tbe novel, Marion Beynon'sAlela Dey provides a rare tells Arthur: treatment of this true dislike. Ma says when ye git a nice John w& a remittance man. [n Englisbman there's nothing nicer, tbe beginning England sent ber and pa mowed one once that \\'3S younger sons of great families to so polite he used to say 'Haw Canada, and ber criminals 10 Buck' to the ox and tben he'd " • / 3 Awtrslia, and judging by ~e of say, 'Oh, I beg yer pardon, I hunting, the culture he brought was tbc fC$U\ls our cousin had an mean gee.' It wasn', you, was it? extremely important, especially to boobsIl unfair adYalllallC over UlI. children like Nellie, wilb no ready fIOUrtc of Arthur admilS be has done many reading matter, Edward McCOun's HOIW we, born canadist'l:.'l, detested fcoliah things but maintains that be is nOl rcmiuance man (barlie Steele, in MIHU: Q/ '!lIIC Eng1isb remitLaI'lCe men! The guilty of this particular one. Arthur himself rJv Clo.u, likewise enriclJes the young Neil IIIT8ICI', AlelB, elplains thaI Jobn is rude is a middle claM, "fifth 600 of tile Reverend Fruer's life with his boob and his IXI aarnful or !leT father, proclaiming that A1freo Austin Wemyss, Rector or St. romantic aloofnes8 from the prosaic :JIDniab kJxM' only how "10 plough a Agnes, Tilbury Road, Coumy of Kenl, farming community. Chartie Sleek alO tJai&tlt CuIl"OlW." This disrourtesy and England," but McClung groups him with operates in an alooholic haze, another :JdemDa'&lic judging leads the family and younger SQn8 of "earl! and dukes: Arthur common allribute of the remittance man, • oc:i8bbon 10 refuse to hire English may no. be excessively polite [0 axen. but thOUgh not one lhat the strong WCIlJ-er men> when men of any other nationality his unfamiliari[y with horses leads him to MCOung would depict as laconically a& did !In be found. Aleta concludes her lip the buggy to allow the horses to drink McCourt. The remittance man could also "'uasion: because he does nOl blow how to unfasten partake of homegrown canadian grandeur the check rein--or even what a check rein when he donned the scarlet coal of a I am sorry for IhC6e English is.) Arthur's polite ineptness is further Mountie, and, as Dick Harrison has remittance men now, al a demonstrated by his getting appendicitis. pointed out, many of the early Mounlies in distaDcc of years from comact Too polite to complain, hc is saved by popular fiction were remittance men or 4 with them. Our crude way of Pearlie, who ral1i~ his ~pirits and brings other immigrants from Britain. Corporal IMna mU5l. have been as him a doctor. Anhur will pte6umahly stay cameron, the hero of Ralph Connor's distaSoleful LO them a& their in canada and be joined by his English Moulllie novel of that \itlc, is a Scot, avowed conlempt for everything sweetheart. In time the [WQ will develop the lhough not a remittance man. we did, IboUghl and had was to common sense of the native_born The 'NIiten> of fiction do not always ... canadians, but McOung clearly thinks Ihey dislingui5h clearly between tbe remittance ' have a good deal to learn. man, whCJ5e emigration is usually at leasl Beynt:m ma~ it elear lhal Aleta's Anhur, who has a splendid s.inging partly at the behest of his family, and rcjudiOe is not againsl Engli5hmen as voice, seems 10 be modelled to some extent British seUler who has come to the U3s1 1Jlllidlmcn but only as people who on the young EnglW'iman McClung calls Best Wesl OIl his or her own. The self .ilpvagr: Canadians a& colonials in Alf Grainger in her aUlobiography, a man supporting immigrant, however, is leM likely lJIDparWm LO a "remembered" England who comes West as a farm hand and Slays 10 be portrayed a& a fool. and fits more lal DC'o'et WllS.