43 pages • 1 hour read
Louis HémonMaria Chapdelaine
Louis HémonFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1913A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Last Names
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
Louis Hémon gives each of Maria’s suitors a last name that reflects something about their character, turning last names into an important motif. François Paradis’s last name, translated from French, means “paradise.” As his name suggests, the free-spirited and adventurous François promises Maria an idyllic life. He is the only one of her suitors for whom Maria feels true love. Their brief time together is spent in blissful reverie, with the blooming landscape around them reflecting their happiness. Maria describes their love as “a thing apart—a thing holy and inevitable” (34).
François’s last name also foreshadows the tragic end of his love affair with Maria. In Catholic tradition, paradise is not a place for mortals, but rather for the souls of the deceased. François’s death shatters Maria’s brief earthly paradise and her hopes of marrying for love. The choice she is left with is a utilitarian one: Depart for the city with Lorenzo Surprenant, or remain in the woods with Eutrope Gagnon.
Lorenzo Surprenant’s last name means “surprise,” and his unexpected return to Québec to court Maria is just that. Surprenant woos Maria with promises of a more comfortable and affluent life in Boston. The amenities he describes are beyond anything she has experienced before, and she begins to yearn for an idealized image of city life.
Eutrope Gagnon’s last name means “farmer,” an appropriate moniker for the steadfast and traditional habitant who offers Maria a continuation of her family’s waning lifestyle. It is also similar to “gagner,” the French word for “win.” Though marriage to Gagnon would entail “a lifetime of rude toil” (68), it would also fulfill Maria’s compulsion to duty. In Gagnon’s name, Hémon foreshadows the inevitability that Maria will choose the farmer and, by extension, choose tradition over change.
The Nor’wester
The nor’wester (north-wester) is a recurring, strong wind pattern that blows through Northern Québec twice during the narrative. Both times, the arrival of the wind foreshadows the death of a major character. The nor’wester thus symbolizes the harsh indifference of the climate and the devastation it can wreak on human life.
When Eutrope Gagnon arrives at the Chapdelaine household to relay the news of François Paradis’s death, he notes that “the nor’wester was blowing for three days on end, stiff enough to flay you” (50) at the time François went missing. François pays the ultimate price for choosing to defy the dangers of the climate.
The novel’s climax occurs when Madame Chapdelaine falls ill. As she lies on her deathbed, the nor’wester once again “[comes] howling over the dark tree-tops,” (78) bringing with it a powerful storm that shakes the house. Hémon describes the sounds of the storm as “the roar and shriek of the foe” (79), anthropomorphizing the weather into a malevolent force. The presence of the wind heightens the tension of the climax.
After the curé arrives and reads Madame Chapdelaine’s last rites, the nor’wester passes over the region and the storm ends. At the same moment, Madame Chapdelaine dies with a sigh, which parallels the retreat of the wind. The narrative tension withdraws, and the family is left to deal with the aftermath.
French-Canadian Identity
The characters’ relationship to their identities as the descendants of the first French settlers is a key motif throughout the novel, illustrating the theme of Duty Versus Personal Fulfillment. The Chapdelaines are staunchly proud of their heritage. Their identities are closely tied to their agricultural lifestyle and inextricable from the land they live on. They carry on the labor, religion, and familial traditions of their ancestors, guarding these practices against the increasing influence of industrialization and immigration out of Québec. Lorenzo represents a rejection of this identity, as he chooses a more lucrative life in Boston and does not betray any nostalgia for his old life, suggesting that he has forged a new identity for himself that is not dependent on his old life as a French Canadian. By contrast, Maria’s relationship to her French-Canadian identity is a key factor in her eventual decision to marry Eutrope and remain in Québec. Although she is temporarily tempted by the new beginning Lorenzo offers, an inner voice prompts her to stay based on what she feels that it means to be a loyal French Canadian.
The Chapdelaines’ determination to preserve their identity also reflects the early roots of Québécois nationalism, an ongoing socio-political movement that stresses the autonomy of the nation of Québec and seeks to preserve Québécois culture as distinct from broader anglophone Canadian culture.
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