Maria Chapdelaine

This section of the novel details a joyful period in Maria’s life, deepening the novel’s exploration of Duty Versus Personal Fulfillment. In summer, Maria exchanges vows with François. The landscape once again reflects her mood in an instance of pathetic fallacy, with their betrothal happening on the clearest and sunniest day of the year, when the surrounding forest is in full bloom. Even after winter returns to the woods, Maria’s love for François provides a source of warmth amid the bleakness of the season. She looks forward to his return the following spring, which will lift the literal chill from the land and bring her life into bloom once more.

Chapter 5 introduces a new contender for Maria’s heart, Lorenzo Surprenant. An emigrant to Boston, Lorenzo represents the increasing number of young Québécois leaving their homeland in search of better opportunities. Lorenzo does not share the French-Canadian nationalism of the novel’s other characters. He feels no special connection to the land and has no fidelity to his family’s farming tradition. Lorenzo’s discussion with Madame Chapdelaine reveals this contrast, as Madame Chapdelaine, who has seen a generation of her peers leave Québec, feels bound by tradition and duty. Her assertion that she does not want to live among English speakers highlights the importance of French as a linguistic marker of Québecois identity.

Hémon furthers explores French-Canadian nationalism in Chapter 5, touching on the fact that French settlers and their descendants view themselves as simply “Canadian,” while keeping qualifiers for every other group of settlers. This detail highlights the sense of ownership and pride between Québécois and Quebec, contextualizing the depth of the Chapdelaines’ relationship to the land. Chapter 5 also includes a racist description of Indigenous Canadians, who are portrayed in an exoticized and dehumanizing manner. This is one of the few times Indigenous peoples are mentioned in the text. In a novel that purportedly chronicles the reality of life in rural Québec, Hémon has largely erased the presence of Indigenous people. The settlers’ attachment to the land, their traditions, and their lifestyles are framed as the “true” roots of Québec, sidelining the Indigenous tribes who predate the settlers by thousands of years. 

As a white Frenchman with blood ties to the French who first settled Canada, Hémon’s viewpoint was likely clouded by both personal bias and the prevailing prejudices of the time. The Indigenous erasure in the text parallels the way that French-Canadian nationalism ignored the history and culture of Indigenous Canadians, asserting that French settlers and their descendants were the true owners of the land.

The return of winter develops the theme of The Hardships and Beauty of Rural Life. The Chapdelaines mark seasons by the weather rather than the use of a calendar, as the length and severity of the region’s weather patterns are all that matters for their daily work. A dry summer and early winter jeopardize their yearly harvest. Hémon describes the snow-covered landscape as “pitiless” and the cold as “murderous” (40). Despite the family’s misfortune, Hémon continues to spotlight the virtues of life in the woods. He describes the beauty of the changing foliage as “enrapturing.” Winter is a time of struggle, but also of comfort and intimacy, as the family draws together around the cast-iron stove. The Chapdelaines accept the year’s “meager harvest” without complaint, further demonstrating their submission to the higher powers of nature and God.