Quebec's Theater of Liberation Author(S): Edwin Joseph Hamblet Source: Comparative Drama, Vol

Quebec's Theater of Liberation Author(s): Edwin Joseph Hamblet Source: Comparative Drama, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring 1971), pp. 70-88 Published by: Comparative Drama Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41152546 . Accessed: 03/09/2013 22:01

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This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Quebec'sTheater of Liberation

Edwin JosephHamblet

WhenGratien Gélinas' TiťCoq openedon May 22, 1948, at theMonument National in Montreal,little did the versatile French-Canadianplaywright realize what the repercussions wouldbe. Tit-Coqran for over two hundred performances and markedthe beginning of a theaterintrinsically French-Canadian in character.The successfulplay aboutthe trialsand tribula- tionsof a haplessFrench-Canadian soldier paved the way for a dozendramatists who were to contributeto therenascence of a highlydynamic theater in FrenchCanada. The renewalhas been so astonishingthat Montreal now ranksonly after Paris and Brusselsin dramaticproductions in the French-speaking world.Approximately forty plays are staged in Frencheach year in Montreal,making it second only to New York in North Americain thenumber and qualityof itsstage performances. French-Canadianchansonniers, poet-singers who compose theirown lyricsand music,have long had the reputationof reflectingthe aspirationsof theirnationalistic compatriots. In- deed, theyhave contributedgreatly toward orienting the na- tionalistsentiments of theirfollowers and have been vociferous in theirdemands for justice for the French-Canadianpeople. ChansonniersPauline Julien, Monique Leyrac, Claude Léveillée and Jean-PierreFerland have achieved recognition and wideac- claimin Europe. Yet, anothergroup of artistsin FrenchCana- da, notablythe emergingdramatists, have also been eloquent witnessesto Quebec's strugglefor liberation,whether it be psychological,economic, social, linguistic or political.Charles DeGaulle'scry of "Vive le Québec libre!"from the balcony of Montreal'scity hall in 1967 unleashedsuch a furorin English Canada thatit obscuredthe factthat this very slogan of the French-Canadianseparatists has long been a major concern to thatsociety's playwrights, who have been highlyarticulate as advocatesof "liberation"for their people. 70

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The drama of GratienGélinas, Marcel Dube, Jacques Fer- ron, Françoise Loranger,Robert Gurik, and Michel Tremblay atteststo thevibrant nationalism that is rampanttoday in French Canada. Their drama also reveals that the actual climate is rathercomplex and cannot be reduced to simplisticterms. In- deed, "liberation"is used by each one of these playwrightsin a differentcontext. The "liberation"that theyclaim for their fellow French Canadians is many-faceted.It is not simplya questionof black and white,with the forces of good (the French Canadians) pittedagainst the forcesof evil (the English), as so many outside observerswould seem to think. The French- Canadian theaterof liberationadvocates first of all self-analysis and criticismwith no recourseto self-pity,nostalgia, sentimental- ity,or withdrawal.The contemporaryFrench-Canadian drama- tistsseek to cure the split personalityfrom which the masses sufferin theirpresent identity crisis; they also forcefullyattack whatthey consider the mythof bilingualism,a one way bilingualism that in theireyes has left the lower classes linguistically impoverished;and theyinsist on the priorityof the Frenchlan- guage as thesole legitimatevehicle of expressionwithin Quebec. Finally,some of theplaywrights even proclaima sovereignQue- bec and speak of "la nationcanadienne-française." This present discussionwill examinesome of the connotationsof "liberation" as theypertain to the worksand philosophiesof the major con- temporaryFrench-Canadian dramatists. The psychological, linguisticand politicalaspects of the questionare clearlymani- festin theirdrama and conversation.And it should be noted thatthe primaryconcern of French Canada's theaterof liberation is the individualand not abstractideals. It is a theateres- sentiallyoriented to the average French Canadian, the man in the street,whose pedestrianlife is oftenforgotten and ignored because it is supposedlyof little dramatic interest. Quebec's révolutiontranquille began slowlyduring the final days of PremierMaurice Duplessis' regime. Marcel Dubé was thenone of the unofficialspokesmen on the Montrealstage as the astuteobserver of the psychologicalliberation of the young- er generationsof French Canadians. Dubé believed that his compatriotshad long been the victimsof a crushinginferiority complex due to theirunique culturalposition in Anglo-Saxon NorthAmerica. They had reacted,according to him, to these strongeroutside forces in the past by a self-imposedwithdrawal fromreality, accompanied by a tenacious,paralyzing fear that

This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 72 ComparativeDrama had all but completelydrained them of personalambition and self-initiative.Jean-Paul Desbiens in his crucialwork Les Inso- lencesdu FrèreUntei offered the following observations about thisdamaging phenomenon that grips his fellowFrench Cana- dians:"De qui ont-ilspeur, et pourquoi?... La réponseest assez simple:nous avonspeur de l'autorité. . . nousvivons dans un climatmagique, où il s'agit,sous peinede mort,au moins,de n'enfreindreaucun tabou, de respectertoutes les formules,tous les conformismes.La peur diffusedans laquelle nous vivons stérilisetoutes nos démarches."lThese highly explosive remarks firstappeared in an anonymousletter to Le Devoir,the leading Montrealdaily, on April30, 1960. In Octoberof the same year, MarcelDubé's heroineFlorence, whose name is also thetitle of theprovocative play, was to echoDesbiens' denunciation in stun- ningfashion on thestage of theComédie-Canadienne. Florencecomes from a working-classfamily in Montreal,but she has managedto securea job as secretaryin an advertising agency.She differsfrom many girls of her social background onlyin beingaware that the vegetative atmosphere of herpar- ents' milieuthreatens to paralyzeher existence.She wants desperatelyto freeherself both physically and psychologically fromthis enervating environment. Becoming more and more isolatedfrom her familywith whom she is no longerable to communicate,she is unableto controlher emotionsand must expressher repugnance at herfather's complaisance and resig- nation:"Regarde, Papa, regardetout ce qu'il y a autourde nous autres. Regardeles meubles,les murs,la maison:c'est laid, c'estvieux, c'est une maisond'ennui. Tu n'as pas réussi à êtrepropriétaire de ta maisonen trenteans. Tu es toujours restéce que tuétais ... Et moiaussi, ça va êtrela mêmechose si je me laisse faire."2Florence's damning remarks liberate her father,Gaston, who finallyhas the courageto face the truth: his lifelong virtue of honestystems only from his inbredfear. Gastonlater confesses to his wifeAntoinette:

C'est parce qu'on a eu peur de la vie, parce qu'on s'est encrassés dans les principesqui ne peuventpas satisfairedes petitesfilles commeFlorence. . . . Sur les bancs de l'école,Toinette, à l'église le dimanche,aux campagnesélectorales, dans les manufactures, dans les bureaux,partout, on nous a apprisà avoirpeur. On nous a enseignéque la meilleurefaçon de nous défendreétait de nous enfermerdans nos maisons,dans nos paroisses,à l'abri des dan- gers. . . . On nous a apprisà avoir peur des fantômespendant

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qu'on nous dépouillaitde nos vraisbiens. C'est commeça qu'on nous a éduqués. (pp. 95-96) Olivier,Marcel Dubé's spokesmanand protagonistin "Les Beaux Dimanches,"substantiates Gaston's position in a tiradethat drew wide attentionfrom the Montrealpress when the play was performedin 1965: "Dans le petit cathéchismeque j'ai étudié il n'étaitpas questionde la liberténi de l'amour humains. Pour- tant,moi, si j'avais une morale, c'est avant tout sur l'amour et la libertéqu'elle serait basée. ... A l'école on nous parlait beaucoup plus de châtimentdivin que de miséricorde. C'est compréhensible.Ce sont deux choses qui vont si peu ensemble. Et puis la peur,c'est plus rentable.. . ."3 In addition,Dubé presentsthose characterswho preferthe status quo in French Canada in a most unsympatheticlight. Achille,a corruptpolitician from the Duplessis regime,who has been exposed,clings desperately to the values and traditionsof the past in Au Retour des Oies Blanches, produced in 1966. Achille lamentsthe currentpolitical upheaval while he looks backwardsfor security: "Ce sera bientôtl'anarchie. Je le prédis. Si on ne s'accroche pas aux valeurs traditionnelles,ce sera bientôtl'anarchie ou la révolution. On piétinerales croix des églises,on assassinerales prêtreset ce sont de jeunes cerveaux brûlés qui prendrontle pouvoir."4 Achille is so naive that,in Dubé's eyes, he cannot resignhimself to the fact that the old order based on fear, religioushypocrisy, and political corrup- tion is being rapidlyoverturned. His myopia makes him one of the most wretchedand patheticcharacters of Dubé's entire theater. Marcel Dubé has been preoccupiedwith the liberationof theFrench Canadians fromthe inherent complexes that paralyze them psychologically.From Zone, his outstandingsuccess of 1953, to Au Retour des Oies Blanches, Dubé has exposed the plightof his compatriotswho are deadened by fear, a fear in- bred by two centuriesof drearyJansenism and the emasculating mentalityof a conquered people. Once these psychological shackles have been thrownoff, there still lies the tremendous taskof knowingand of acceptingoneself. When one has achieved this goal, then he will be preparedto pass frompassivity and indifferenceto action and commitmentwith full confidence. These are the major themesof Françoise Loranger,a relative new-comerto the Montreal theater. Her firsttwo plays, Une Maison . . . un Jour (1965) and Encore cinq minutes(1967),

This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 74 ComparativeDrama deal withthe French-Canadianbourgeoisie and the conflicts betweengenerations. This mayappear banal, but thecleavage in FrenchCanada betweenthose over and underthirty-five is far moreserious than in the restof NorthAmerica. In Une Maison . . . un Jourthe protagonists strive to knowwho they are firstof all, and in theirsearch for identity, they express the need to liberatethemselves by attemptingto communicatein- telligentlyand compassionatelywith each other.The hypocrisy ofthe past is abhorred,because, as one characteraptly expresses it, "il fautappeler les chosespar leurnom si on veutles vider de leurcontenu d'angoisse."5 Gertrude,a major characterin Encore cinq minutes,ad- miresher childrenfor their frankness and confidencebecause she has been a victimof the suffocationand isolationof her Jansenisticmilieu. She finallyrealizes the relief that comes from justbeing aware of thedeplorable state of thingsand thebene- fitthat follows when she has decidedto obeyher conscience and to liberateherself from the tyranny of her environment. Gertrude sees at last thenecessity for a humanbeing to becomean au- thenticindividual. Françoise Loranger, through protagonists like Gertrude,denounces the prejudices,fears, and taboos of thePharisaic society that she believes is stiflingQuebec by main- tainingindividuals in a perpetualstate of passivity.In an interviewwith literary critic Luc Perreault,Madame Loranger has said: "Le milieun'est plus frustrantsur le plan de l'écriture maisl'est encore sur le plan de la vie. Ce qu'il y a encorede frustrant,ce sont les gens en place partout.Ce sont ceux-là qui mettentdes freins.Tout mon espoir repose dans les jeunes. Jeles adore. Jepense que quandcette jeunesse passera à l'âge d'agir,elle n'oublierapas la leçon qu'elle reçoitactuellement et elle se feraun pointd'honneur de resterlibre."6 Freedomand actionare keywords in FrançoiseLoranger's drama. Her youngheroine Catherine echoes the dramatist's mainconcern in Une Maison . . . un Jour:"Nier l'action au XXe siècle! Nier l'actionquand on appartientà une petite poignéede Canadiens-françaisperdus sur un continenttout entiervoué à l'action! C'est de l'aberrationpure et simple,au moinsreconnais-le! Condamner l'action quand notre survivance mêmeen dépend!" (p. 62). Because Madame Lorangeris dedicatedto suchprinciples, the framework of a realistictheater characteristicof Strindbergand reminiscentof Dubé in its psychology,proved to be too constraining.Thus she abandoned

This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Edwin JosephHamblet 75 thisformula in favorof a theaterof participationcentered on the visual and the sonorousin her "psycho-drama"Double Jeu, performedat the Comédie-Canadiennein January,1969. This new techniquecorresponded to the realitiesand the demands of a societyin a state of constantchange. In Double Jeu the spectatorswere forced to become involved,to examine themselves and to re-definethemselves in what the authorhas called "une cérémoniede la naissanceà l'amourde la vie."7 Double Jeu uses the frameof a behavioraltest conducted by a Montrealnight school teacherfor his students,who repre- sent differentsocial milieux. (Their cultural differencesare furtheraccentuated by theiraccents, representative of the vari- ous Montreal neighborhoods.) The professor'sstudents have to identifythemselves with five differentpersonages: a young girl,a youngman, a hermit,a surveyor,and a ferryman.The girlis at the centerof the play's action because she mustrejoin the youngman whom she loves. Her adventureslead her sub- sequentlyto the hermit,the surveyor,and the ferryman;she must ask each one individuallyfor his help, whetherit be in crossinga swamp,forest or a ragingriver. The test representslife. Water symbolizinglife in its very fluidityoccupies an importantplace in theaction of this"psycho- drama." (The author'sinstructions call for a ragingriver to be projectedon threedifferent screens located on threesides of the stage. The rushingwaterway could be interpretedas the mighty Saint Lawrence River,cradle of French-Canadiancivilization.) The fivecharacters in Double Jeu representthe fivemost char- acteristicbehavioral reactionsof life. The young girl is life which is ever changing,evolving, moving backwards,or ad- vancing;she also personifiesman's capacity to be changed by events. The surveyoris a responsible,committed but politically non-alignedindividual, one who is capable of re-evaluatinghim- self.The ferrymanis the personsatisfied to remainon the side- lines and watchpassively in safety. The hermitor reclusedoes not want to know anything;he does not care for any difficult experiencesand would rathernot become involved. The young man representsanyone who is enamoredof high principlesand who refusesall, but does not manage to escape unscathedfrom life'strials. The younggirl, personifying the average French Canadian, must cast aside any inhibitionsor lack of confidencethat are deeplyrooted in her psycheas she strivesto reach her beloved.

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The surveyor,the hermit,and the ferrymanbecome formidable obstacles,both psychologicaland physical,that she must over- come while she pursuesher goal. Double Jeu is FrançoiseLor- anger'sinvitation to FrenchCanadians to experiencea collective creation,for in the Comédie-Canadienneproduction, some 248 spectatorsvolunteered to participatein the proposedroles in an attemptto emancipatethemselves. Three-quarters of the volun- teerswere undertwenty-five, and of these,the girlswere much moreconfident and imaginativethan the men, who rarelyshowed initiative.8 Double Jeu was directed by twenty-twoyear old André Brassard, an outspoken admirer of San Francisco's Living Theater. The last performancebecame a veritablehappening, an affairwithout precedent in thehistory of theMontreal theater. During the improvisationscene two girls and threemen came on stage. One of the girlsproceeded to the centerof the stage and quietlytook all her clothes off. Then the threemen followed suit while the second girl broughtboxes containingtwo doves and a rooster,which were distributedto the men. Two of the men held the doves high above theirheads in a gesture recallingthe Statue of Liberty;the thirdman slit the rooster's throatwith a butcherknife and evisceratedit. He then show- ered himselfin the bird'sblood. The audience,at firsttoo hor- rifiedto stir,finally realized what was happening,but already the quintethad put theirclothes back on and slippedquietly out of a side door of the Comédie-Canadienne.Then mass hysteria broke out among the six hundredspectators. Why did thesefive French Canadians participatein such an extraordinarymanner in Françoise Loranger's Double Jeu? The group,composed of two sculptors,one mathematicsprofes- sor, and two young co-eds, said that theypresented an "acted manifesto." In their own words: "Double Jeu . . . perpétue l'humiliationde l'homme québécois, représentéà un moment sous les traitsd'un voyeurimpuissant, puis sous ceux d'une brute. Elle perpétue... les mythesde la sublimation.. . . Nous ne consentonsplus à l'humiliation,à l'aliénation- nous ne perdons pas notretemps à prouveren paroles: nous agissonsselon nos propres schèmes."9 Their words proved that Madame Lor- anger'stheater public was ready to act, althoughshe herselfis againstviolence in any formwhatsoever. The dramatistinsisted that love and freedommust be soughtafter peacefully: "II ne faudraitpas entendrele mot 'libre'dans le sens d'un programme

This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Edwin JosephHamblet 11 de partipolitique; ma libertéà moi, commecelle d'Aragonsans doute,va plus loin. La découvertede la liberté,c'est une naissance à l'amourde la vie."10 In additionto questionsof self-identityand personal liberation,French Canada's contemporaryplaywrights are the leading cultural exponentsof linguisticemancipation. The legal status of the French language and the quality of the spoken idiom are major concerns. These authorsare virtuallyunani- mous in their advocacy of an unilingualQuebec. This is not surprising,since more and more French Canadians are coming to identifythemselves with la francophonie,a culturalconcept thatembraces the French-speaking nations of theworld. French Canadians call the poorlyspoken French of manyof theircom- patriotsjouaL (Joual is the mispronounciationof the word cheval in popular French-Canadianspeech; it is a term used by Jean-PaulDesbiens in Les Insolencesdu Frère Untei,a work that has been a catalystin French Canada's awakening.) The adventof French language televisionand legitimatetheater of excellentquality has created enthusiasticinterest in linguistic questions,and more especiallyin French as a vehicle of communication.Marcel Dubé, forexample, notes this phenomenon: "Et puis, vers la fin des années 50, les problèmespolitiques, culturels,éducatifs, ceux-là même de notre survie,prirent une telle acuité au Canada français,qui pour moi s'identifieau Québec, que j'optai pour une orientationnouvelle. Je pris consciencetout à coup de l'importancede la langue française comme condition déterminante,primordiale, indissociable de notresurvivance."! 1 As early as 1962, dramatistJacques Ferron expressedhis doubts about a bilingualFrench Canada in an interviewwith journalistJacques Keable: "Ça ne convientpas de garder la langue françaisecomme langue seconde. Ce n'est pas comme le 'ouolloff,qui est une langue sans bibliothèque. La langue françaiseest une langue de culture,de communication.Tout cela ici est appelé à disparaître.... Je ne crois pas que le bilin- guismepuisse se pratiquerau niveaudu peuple."12 Marcel Dubé also rejectsthe bilingualmilieu of whichhe is a product. He is not againstthe study of foreignlanguages, but he sharesFerron's concernfor the urbanized French-Canadian proletariat that must learn English before it can adequately masterFrench. Dubé beratesin no uncertainterms what he considersthe debilitating effectsof bilingualism:"Car il est impensable d'asservirles

This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 78 ComparativeDrama masses à l'exercice quotidiende deux langues officielleset de s'attendreà ce qu'un groupehumain puisse se manifesterlibre- ment avec aisance dans son autonomieet ses particularismes. Le bilinguismeest une option individuelle,non une option politiqueimpliquant des servitudesnationales ou collectives."^ Both Dubé and Ferrondesire to liberateFrench-Canadians from whatthey consider to be the linguisticyoke of an approximative knowledgeof two languages. Jacques Ferron has recentlyreiterated his stand against bilingualismby bitterlycommenting: "Le bilinguisme,c'est de l'incohérence.Il n'y a pas de pays bilingue. Nulle part. Pas un seul. D'ailleurs, on n'a pas le choix. A sa naissance,on ne choisitpas ses parents. Ni sa langue. Vous enlevervotre langue - ce vers quoi tend infailliblementle bilinguisme,c'est vous faire orphelin. Et ici, c'est comme ça que ça se passe. Parce que le capital qui n'a pas de langue,parle espagnolau Mexique et anglais au Québec."14 Ferron'sbitterness on the linguisticissue is also shared by twenty-fouryear old playwrightMichel Tremblay,whose suc- cessfulLes Belles-Soeurscaptivated Montreal audiences at the Théâtredu Rideau-Vertin the fall of 1968. GermaineLauzon, protagonistof the play, lives in wretchedpoverty in one of Montreal'smost somberneighborhoods. As the action begins, she has won a milliontrading stamps which must be pasted into booklets so that theymay be redeemed. To assist her in this considerabletask, Germaine invites her sisters-in-lawand friends for a "stamp lickingparty." Germaine'ssudden fortuneangers the otherswho are extremelyjealous. They considerher win- ningto be completelyunmerited and unjustified,and so, by the time the curtainfalls, theyhave unabashedlystolen all of her stamps. While plot is practicallynon-existent in Les Belles- Soeurs, the atmosphereon the surfaceis hilarious. The slap- stick ambience is accentuatedby the wittydialogue that the charactersconduct between themselvesin joual, the heavy Canadian accent of theiruneducated milieu. The FrenchCanadians have long benefitedfrom the salutary effectsof a good sense of humorand frombeing able to laugh at themselves.The successfulsatirical revues that dominated the Montrealtheater scenes a generationago substantiatethis. Yet, Les Belles-Soeursis a play thatis intrinsicallypessimistic in spite of the externaljoviality. Baptiste'spleasantries of the past have become GermaineLauzon's personaltragedy, a tragedyintensi-

This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Edwin JosephHamblet 79 fied because of her inabilityto express herselfappropriately. Jean-ClaudeGermain, drama critic of Le Petit Journal,has made the followingastute observationabout the linguisticim- poverishmentthat paralyses Germaine: "A l'exception d'une des amiesde Germainequi a acquis un pseudo-vernis de français en Europe, tout le monde parle la langue du ghetto,le 'jouai'. Pour eux, l'impuissancen'est pas un problème,c'est une réalité dont ils souffrentet dont ils ne prendrontjamais conscience. Jamais,parce que le 'jouai'- qui est une langue appauvrie et sans pouvoirshors de la réalitéimmédiate - empêchetoute prise de conscience."^ Montreal literarycritic Martial Dassylva considersMichel Tremblay'sflirtation with jouai to be futileand even accuses him of much too consciouslycultivating an atmosphereof vul- garity.And he believesthat Tremblay's present infatuation with thepopular idiom is an adolescentcrisis resembling acne! Never- theless,Dassylva is willingto concede thatthe languageused in Les Belles-Soeurswill serve a useful purpose: "Le jouai des 'Belles-Soeurs' nous rend conscients de la nécessité et de l'urgencede passer rapidementà l'action en ce qui concernele français. Il faudra éviter les cataplasmes et faire preuve de radicalisme;c'est au moins une excuse valable de l'auteur."16 Thus, accordingto Dassylva, the bastardizedlanguage of Trem- blay's characterslies at the verycore of theirpersonal tragedy: "Cette tragédiecommence au niveau du langage; cette langue punie déboucheau niveau de l'existencesur des comportements, des attitudeset des réactionsqui équivalentà des capitulations constanteset répétées."l7 French Canada's highly articulate dramatistsrefuse to remainsilent while in theireyes theinarticu- late massessuccumb as innocentvictims to a societythat reduces themto resignationand hopelessness. The questionof politicalindependence for Quebec has been openly treatedby the Montrealplaywrights in additionto the psychologicaland linguisticproblems that plague the present generationof French Canadians. Gratien Gélinas, founderof the Comédie-Canadienney ponders French Canada's growing separatistmovement somewhat remorsefully in Hier les enfants dansaienty produced in 1967. (An Englishversion of the play, Yesterdaythe Children Were Dancing, was given during the CharlottetownFestival at Prince Edward Island, on July 5, 1967.) In theplay, Pierre Gravel, a successfulMontreal lawyer, has been asked to run forMinister of Justicein PrimeMinister

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Lester Pearson's government.Gravel's oldest son André, aged twenty-threeand a separatist,has recentlypassed his bar exami- nationswith distinction; and theyoungest son, Larry,is a student at Loyola College. André becomes involvedin a separatistplot to blow up a monumentto Edward VII, a symbolof British colonialism. The explosion is scheduled for election day and could compromisethe elder Gravel's political career. The son refusesto desist since he is the ringleader. Due to a mishap, André fails to arriveat the appointedtime. Nevertheless,the missionis accomplished:the substituteis LarryGravel. The tensionis Hier les enfantsdansaient lies in the conflict betweenPierre, a staunchfederalist, and his ardentlyseparatist son, André. The animosityis heightenedwhen André calls his father"Peter." The fathergives the standardarguments against Quebec's separationfrom the Canadian confederation:"André, listento me: I'd believe in Separatismwith all my heart,too, if I weren'tconvinced it'd mean economic suicide. . . . Afteren- joyingone of thehighest standards of livingin theworld, Quebec would plungeright into the muck for generationsto come with all the foul-upbrought on by the withdrawalof foreigncapital, inflation,the whole rottenmess. . . . How do you expectQuebec to go it alone, lost in an ocean of two hundredmillion speaking English?"18 These argumentsfail to convinceAndré, who accuses his fatherof having a dog-on-the-leashcomplex: he will not leave the doghouse,even if the leash is removedand he is whipped. André on one occasion retorts:"How can you lead us to freedom?It's got you scared as the plague and VD com- bined" (p. 61). The son sees his fatheronly as a compromiser, and so he loses all faith in his father'sjudgment. André is staunchlysupported in his endeavorsby his fiancée,Nicole, an audacious girlwho accuses her futurefather-in-law of a colonial mentality: Have you any idea of whata colonialyou are, even in yourown home?An hourago, on the phone,you were talkingto yourbig boss,the PrimeMinister of whatyou quiveringlycall mybeloved country.Had you feltthe temptation, perfectly legitimate to make himanswer in yourown tongue,can you imaginehow bewildered thepoor dear greatman would'vebeen? And yetthree out of nine of "his people" speak French. And Confederationis hardlya surprise- it's been aroundfor a century!What's more, a Nobel Prize winnerisn't usually a dunce. So? He can't speak our language, or he won'tspeak it? Eitherway, you can kiss everyfinger of both his hands if you want to, but personallyI say, "Nuts! Crap!" (pp. 69-70)

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With these words ringingin his ears, and humiliatedand compromisedby his son's political activities,Pierre Gravel mustersenough courage to keep a speakingengagement before the Canadian Club in Toronto. The course of events oblige him to add the followingremarks to the end of his speech: "Gentlemen... by now, you all know thatmy house is divided over the problem- that together- we have faced today. ... I know thatyou share my distress,and thatof my wife. . . . For my dividedhouse will not go down withoutshaking yours to its veryfoundations" (pp. 75-76). With these words of warning, GratienGélinas bringsdown thecurtain on a play thatexpresses his regretsat the deterioratingrelationship between father and son and at the unsatisfactorypolitical climate in Quebec. Gélinas presentsboth the federalistand the separatistposi- tionsobjectively in Hier les enfantsdansaient, but Jacques Fer- ron does not conceal his frankanti-establishment sentiment in Les GrandsSoleils, performedin 1968 by the Théâtredu Nou- veau Monde. And on morethan one occasionhe has emphasized his stand: "Ce qui me déplaîtle plus,c'est cetteclasse bourgeoise qui ne se justifieplus aujourd'hui . . . une classe bourgeoise de pays colonisé.. . . Elle existeencore . . . par exemple,prenez ces gens qui disentque la Constitutioncanadienne est accept- able. . . ."19 Ferron,a medical doctor and a socialist,blames the French-Canadianbourgeoisie for the presentpredicament of Quebec. It is preciselythis stronglyentrenched middle-class minority,he claims, that is responsiblefor the traditionalex- pressionsof patriotismin French Canada. Ferronbelieves that patriotismand literatureare closelyunited and thatit is the duty of the French-Canadianplaywright to infusea spiritof nation- alistic passion into his writings. Ferron calls for a re-evaluationof the teachingof history and patriotismin Quebec educationin orderto liberateit from a sentimentalbourgeois orientation. And the theateroffers one excellentmeans of presentinghis message. Les Grands Soleils is a patrioticplay thattells the story of Dr. Jean-OlivierChénier, one of theFrench-Canadian patriots of the 1837 Rebellion,who was hangedat St. Eustache. Chénieris pittedagainst two parti- sans of thestatus quo: theparish priest of St. Eustache and Félix Poutré, a well-to-dofarmer and collaborator.The priest,em- bodyingthe very spirit of resignationand passivenessthat Ferron detests,admonishes Elizabeth, a staunchsupporter of Chénier, in thefollowing manner: "Vous avez vu la Patrie avec un grand

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T' comme une grande pipe, une Patrie de fumée qui vous a caché le principal. Nous sommesun peuple d'habitants."20 Ferron closely identifieswith Chénier,his protagonist,and has even named one of his sons afterhim. 1837 is a key date for the playwright,for it was at this momentthat the French Canadians firstconceived of themselvesas a distinctpeople as a resultof Chénieťs efforts.Ferron even goes as farto compare his hero withChé Guevara: "Chénierest mortdans un combat aussi désespéréque celui de Guevara, au termed'une pièce qui est d'ailleurs tout autre chose qu'une pièce à thèse, mais une broderiesubtile sur un mouvementsymbolique de l'histoiredu Québec. ... La pièce est devenue un cérémonial:d'une petite défaite,on fait une victoire,à inscriredans le reste du monde pour situer le Québec au nombre des petits peuples qui se libèrent."2l Chénier'sbig mistake,according to the playwright, was not to have been able to read Guevara. However,the his- toricfigure seems to be a pretextfor Ferron to exalt the spirit of 1837 as theideal whichshould motivate all Quebecersworthy of the name. Martial Dassylva has describedChénier's role in Les Grands Soleils as having the effectof a low Mass recited withmuch appreciationand devotion.22 Chénier is hardlyde- veloped as an individualcharacter, for he is more a marionnette who acts out his master'swill. Nevertheless,there is littledoubt about the dramatist'ssincerity and honestyin his attemptto re- interpretChénier's influence on theevolution of French-Canadian political thinking. General DeGaulle's "Vive le Québec libre!" inspiredFran- çoise Lorangerto writea provocativeplay thatwas one of the mostoutstanding successes of the 1968 Montrealtheater season. Her Le Chemin du Roy was describedin a press communiqué as a "marveloushappening by the people."23 Under the guise of fantasy,spectacle and comedy,a whole people found once more for a few momentsa certainreason for existence. The productionattempted to show the truthconcealed fromthe public by mass media. In this respect,Le Chemin du Roy was a dramaticmanifesto, a shockingspectacle in whichconventional theatertraditions disappeared as the dramatistportrayed the "real reactions"of Pearson, Diefenbaker,Marchand, and Le- sage. Their reactionto the French presidentbecame comical in her workbecause theyappeared simplyoverwhelmed by the historicalconsequences of the times.24 A hockeygame withQuebec challengingOttawa formsthe

This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Edwin JosephHamblet 83 action in Le Chemin du Roy, a play that has been dubbed a patrioticcomedy, a politicalsatire. The comediansdo not identi- fywith any specificoccupational role, but changespontaneously frompolitician to journalist,from choir master to policeman almost improvisationally.Also, this unusual work gives the French-Canadianviewpoint by citingdirectly the speeches and declarationsof the politicalpersonalities portrayed. Each rehearsalof Le Chemin du Roy resultedin the text being transformed,re-thought and rewritten.The playwright soughtto reconstructthe historic visit that, in MartialDassylva's words, "devait faire vibrercertaines cordes sensiblesde l'âme canadienne-françaiseet faireremonter à la surfacecertaines sus- ceptibilitésde l'âme canadienne-anglaise:c'est sur cettedichoto- mie qu'est bâtie la pièce."25 Madame Lorangerbrought theater to thestreet in her attemptto reliveDeGaulle's journeyas it was experiencedemotionally in Canada by eye witnessesand around the world throughnewspapers and television. In her exuber- ance, the dramatistreported the truthas she interpretedit, while dramatizingthe untenable situation (according to separatist thought)that French-speaking Quebecers confrontevery day. The pro-separatistsentiment of FrançoiseLoranger prevents her frompresenting the completelyobjective picture of the political scene in French Canada that GratienGélinas manages so skillfullyin Hier les enfantsdansaient. She has publiclyprofessed her faithin an independentFrench-Canadian republic not only in Le Chemindu Roy on the stage,but also in an interviewwith novelist Jean Basile: "Pour elle, l'indépendancedu Québec, qu'elle souhaitedans les troisans (sinon ce sera troptard), n'est ni une apocalypseni une eschatologie.Ce but n'estqu'une étape. Phrase grave, mais dite dans un sourire,phrase joyeuse, mais dite avec un rien de nostalgie."26 DeGaulle's memorableadventure into Canada's internalaf- fairsstirred another French-Canadian playwright besides Fran- çoise Lorangerto commemoratethe eventon the stage. Robert Gurik transplantedShakespeare's Hamlet to the banks of the Saint Lawrence in his imaginativeHamlet, Prince du Québec, one of the mostoriginal plays to have been performedin Mon- treal in recentyears. Gurik found a rapportbetween the explosive political atmospherein Hamlet's Denmark and the climatein French Canada upon DeGaulle's departure. Gurik's work,which was writtenin two weeks, proved to be the most controversialproduction of the 1968 theaterseason in Montreal.

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He expressedto journalistAlain Pontauthis reasons for doing this transpositionof Shakespeare'stragedy: "J'ai écrit ce texte dans le but de traduireau théâtreune sensibilisationdu public à l'environnementpresse-radio-télé de façon à essayer d'entre- bâiller une porte vers un prochainthéâtre, à voir jusqu'où on peut aller dans le cérémoniald'actualité."27 Thus, the esthetic implicationsof the reactionsto DeGaulle were just as important to Gurik as the political inferencesfor the futureof French Canada as a collectiveentity. Hamlet representsall the doubts and hesitationsof Quebec, while his step-father,Claudius the king,personifies the English- speakingcommonwealth and its economic and political power. Hamlet'smother, Queen Gertrude,is Holy MotherChurch, who has collaboratedwith the Anglo-Saxonsby acceptingcompro- mises in order to perpetuateher dominationin the kingdom. Poloniusis formerCanadian PrimeMinister Lester Pearson, the king'slackey and executiveinstrument. The kingdomof Quebec is tornbetween two conflictingtendencies: the federalists, Laerte (Trudeau), Guildenstern(Marchand) and Rosencrantz (Pel- letier); and the independentists,Horatio (Lévesque) and the Officer-of-the-Rhine(Bourgault). The play opens in a ceme- terywhere two gravediggers, who representthe French-Canadian masses,are playingcards. A freshlydug grave (Quebec's?) is situatednot far froma tombstoneerected to Maurice Duples- sis' memory.One of the gravediggersboasts that he has been fortunatein love, for he has sired six childrenwho will help Quebec's revengeof the cradle. He is promptlycalled a rabbit and not a man. Since these two laborersdo not speak English, theseis no othertype of employmentavailable to them. Laerte-Trudeaugoes to Ottawa to followin the footstepsof his father,Polonius-Pearson. Hamlet, in the meantime,appears on stage still in a state of shock over the death of his father, France, and over his mother'smarriage to Claudius. Horatio- Lévesque, Hamlet's friend,tells him thathe has seen the ghost of the Prince's real father,France, personifiedby DeGaulle during his visit to the kingdom. Hamlet then accompanies Horatio-Lévesque and Officer-of-the-Rhine-Bourgaultto the place of the rampartscalled "the balcony"where the murdered king,France, appears. France, speakingwith DeGaulle's voice, informsHamlet that Claudius usurpedthe thronewith the col- laborationof the Queen. Young Hamlet is urgedby his father's ghost to liberate the kingdom. This the Prince vows to ac-

This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Edwin JosephH amblet 85 complish. In ordernot to arouse suspicions,he feignsinsanity. Hamlet'speculiar behavior worries the King and Queen who try to discover the cause of his folly throughGuildenstern- Marchand and Rosencrantz-Pelletier.Polonius-Pearson advises the King to bringHamlet and Orphélie-Lesagetogether. Ham- let triesto expose the King by directinga group of actorswho representwell-known Montreal theater personalities, Jean Gas- con, Yvette BrinďAmour, and Gratien Gélinas, in a skit that depictshis father'sdeath as revealed by the ghost. The King becomessuspicious of Hamlet'sinsanity and decidesto send him offto Englandso thathe willnot cause trouble.He asks England, throughhis ambassadors,Guildenstern and Rosencrantz,to im- prisonHamlet for life. The Queen attemptsto reason withher son, who reproachesher forall the harmthat she has createdin the kingdom. At this moment,he accidentallykills Polonius- Pearson whom he had mistakenfor the King. Consequently, Hamlet leaves the country.Laerte-Trudeau returns to revenge his father'smurder and plotswith the King to do awaywith Ham- let. Orphélie-Lesagebecomes insane and drownsherself because her father'sdeath and Hamlet'srejection prove to be more than she can cope with. Hamletdiscusses Quebec's difficultieswith Horatio-Lévesque. The finalscene takesplace at Orphélie'sburial. Laerte-Trudeau, conspiringwith the King, mortallywounds Hamlet in a seem- inglyinnocent tournament. The Prince, however,manages to musterenough strength to kill both Laerte and Claudius, while theQueen dies afterdrinking a gobletof poisonedwine original- ly designatedfor her son. Hamletexpires in the armsof Horatio and the Officer-of-the-Rhine.The Prince hopes that his death will symbolizethe end of a passive and fearfulgeneration of FrenchCanadians and will assure themcomplete political inde- pendence. His last words expressthe sole purpose of his existence: "II faut que vive un Québec libre: sortirde la fange des compromis,de l'esclavage, briserles chaînes qu'hypocritement nous avons nous-mêmesforgées. Il fautque ma mortserve aux autres."28 Robert Gurik's separatistbombshell, Hamlet, Prince du Québec, expresses beyond any doubt the intenselypolemic character of contemporaryFrench-Canadian theater. Over- whelminglynationalistic in outlook and socially oriented,the presentattitudes of theMontreal dramatists did not burston the publicscene solelybecause of thestrong impetus that DeGaulle's

This content downloaded from 128.119.168.112 on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 22:01:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 86 ComparativeDrama presencein 1967 gave to French-Canadiannationalism. These positionsare the resultsof a steady developmentthat began quietlyin Marcel Dubé's drama in the late 1950's and thathas crystallizedduring the past five years. The playwrightshave been responsiblefor creating a large followingin FrenchCana- da, a followingthat has come to appreciateserious legitimate theater. In a sense, Quebec's révolutiontranquille has supplied ample subject matterof dramaticinterest so that currentcre- ativityin theMontreal theater reflects to a largeextent the actual psychologicalstate of theFrench Canadians in all its complexity. All of the plays mentionedin thisdiscussion have been per- formedbefore enthusiasticaudiences. Since these works deal largelywith local questionsand controversies,it is doubtfulif most of themwill transcendthe confinesof limitedappeal or surviveby means of inherentliterary merit. It is, however,too early to judge the lasting qualities of contemporaryFrench- Canadian drama. With the exceptionsof Dubé and Gélinas, the majorityof the playwrightshave only recentlybegun their careers. Certain plays, such as Dubé's Au Retour des Oies Blanches,manifest poetic excellencein the use of metaphorand in the sensitiveportrayal of a highlyexplosive atmosphere. Most of thepresent group of dramatistsmust avoid the double danger of presentinga subject which is not developed in depth and whichthus lacks universality;and of permittingtheir subject to overwhelmtheir art so that theyturn the stage into a platform for the expressionsolely of politicalpropaganda. Nevertheless, theyare partof a movementthat is dynamicand of recentorigin and theymay well be able to overcomethese difficulties.The keywordof theseplaywrights is liberty,liberty in all of its mani- festations- psychological,social, economic,religious, and even political. Marcel Dubé, JacquesFerron, Gratien Gélinas, Fran- çoise Loranger,Michel Tremblay,and Robert Gurik have become thearticulate forces behind Quebec's theaterof liberation.

State Universityof New York at Plattsburgh

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NOTES

l Jean-Paul Desbiens, Les Insolences du Frère Untei (Montreal, 1960), p. 67.

2 Marcel Dube, Florence (Quebec, 1960), p. 80. All furtherreferences will be to this edition.

3 Marcel Dubé, Les Beaux Dimanches (unpublishedmanuscript), p. 79.

4 Marcel Dubé, Au Retour des Oies Blanches (unpublishedmanuscript), p. 29.

5 Françoise Loranger, Une Maison . . . un jour (Ottawa, 1965), p. 103. Ail furtherreferences are to this edition.

6 Luc Perreault,"Françoise Loranger et les plaisirs de la communcation,"La Presse,January 14, 1967.

7 Martial Dassylva, "Françoise Loranger invite le spectateurà participer,"La Presse,January 18, 1969.

8 Jean Basile, "Réflexionssur la participationdans 'Double Jeu'," Le Devoir, February22, 1969.

9 Louis-Bernard Robitaille, "Deux des auteurs du scandale s'expliquent," La Presse,February 17, 1969.

io Jean Basile, "Françoise Loranger: du théâtre, de la liberté, de Dieu," Le Devoir, January18, 1969.

il Marcel Dubé, Textes et Documents (Montreal, 1968), p. 46.

12 Jacques Keable, "Jacques Ferron," La Presse, June 9, 1962.

13 Marcel Dubé, Textes et Documents, p. 47.

14 Alain Pontaut, "Jacques Ferron: 'Les Grands Soleils/" La Presse, February 3, 1968.

15 Jean-ClaudeGermain, "J'ai eu le coup de foudre," Théâtre Vivant,6 (1968), 4.

16 Martial Dassylva, "Le nouveau réalisme (?) des 'Belles-Soeurs' et le 'jouai'," La Presse, September14, 1968.

17 Martial Dassylva, "Du côté de la rue Fabre," La Presse, April 23, 1969.

18 Gratien Gélinas, Yesterday the Children were dancing (Toronto, 1967), pp. 54, 69. All furtherreferences are to this edition.

19 Jacques Keable, "Jacques Ferron,"La Presse, June 9, 1962.

20 Jacques Ferron,Les Grands Soleils (Montreal, 1958), p. 71.

21 Alain Pontaut,"Jacques Ferron: 'Les Grands Soleils'," La Presse, February3, 1968.

22 Martial Dassylva, "Grands soleils et basse messe," La Presse, April 29, 1968.

23 "Le Chemin du Roy," La Presse, April 10, 1968. The play's title,"The King's Highway,"refers to the route that DeGaulle's cavalcade followed from Quebec to Montreal.This was the firsthighway in French Canada and dates back to the French regime.

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" 24 'Le Chemin du Roy' de de Gaulle revivra au Gésù," La Presse, April 15, 1968.

25 Martial Dassylva, "Autant de vie qu'il y a eu dans le coeur des Québécois lors de la visitede de Gaulle," La Presse, April 27, 1968.

26 JeanBasile, "Françoise Loranger: du théâtre,de la liberté,de Dieu," Le Devoir, January18, 1969.

2 7 Alain Pontaut, "Derrière 'Hamlet' et 'Le Pendu,' un auteur: Robert Gurik," La Presse, February 10, 1968.

28 Robert Gurik,Hamlet, Prince du Québec (Montreal, 1968), p. 95.

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