A feminist reading of the mother-daughter relationship in Gabrielle Roy and Francine Noël

Abstract

This thesis proposes a feminist reading of the mother-daughter relationship in the writings of Gabrielle Roy and Francine Noel. The texts discussed have been selected due to their feminist nature and to the importance that they accord to the mother- daughter relationship. In the case of Gabrielle Roy, these texts are Bonheur d’occasion. La petite Poule d’eau, Rue Deschambault, La route d’Altamont, La rivière sans repos, De quoi t’ennuies-tu Eveline, La détresse et l'enchantement and Le temps qui m’a manqué. Her other texts (noted in the bibliography), while they certainly inform the argument of this thesis, do not constitute part of the main body of this study, due to the fact that they are not considered to focus on the mother-daughter relationship. Gabrielle Roy is also the author of a number of unpublished texts. Again, these do not form part of this thesis, as the material to be gathered from the published texts is already substantial. An examination of Gabrielle Roy’s unpublished work would necessitate a separate study (this is perhaps an idea for further research). In the case of Francine Noel, the texts analysed in this thesis are Maryse, Myriam première. La Conjuration de bâtards - also known as the Maryse trilogy -, Nous avons tous découvert I’Amérique and La femme de ma vie.