Sandra Hobbs  (Wayne State University)
The Native in the 20th Century Quebec Novel: Problems and Possibilities for Postcolonial Theories of Ambivalence

Studying the representation of the native in Quebec literature has, surprisingly, long been the purview of comparative literature rather than of literary criticism specific to Quebec. The title of Terrie Goldie's 1989 study, Fear and Temptation: The Image of the Indigene in Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand Literatures, is revealing of such comparative studies of "New World" (Vautier 1998) literatures: it emphasizes the ambivalent nature of the representation of the native character in the literatures of former settler colonies. Other comparative studies, such as Amaryll Chanady's 1999 book on Canadian (English and French) and South American fiction, Entre inclusion et exclusion. La symbolisation de l'autre dans les Amériques also underline the ambivalent portrayal of the native character in literature of the Americas. However, the few Quebec literary studies devoted to this topic tend to focus on the positive nature of this figure ( for example, L'Hérault 1996, Thérien 1988 and 1991). These studies stress the specificity of the native's role in Quebec literature, drawing for example on the figures of the Métis and of the coureur des bois as icons that have shaped the national imaginary. In summary, while this consideration of historical and cultural specificity is sometimes lacking in comparative studies, the negative attributes displayed by the figure of the native remain unexplained in the sporadic studies devoted to this subject in Quebec literary criticism. In this sense, we believe that postcolonial theory developed in other contexts of emerging national identities can be useful in the study of the ambivalent representation of the native in Quebec literature. More specifically, in this paper we explore how Bhabha's notions of ambivalence, hybridity and mimicry, and Spivak's notions of the subaltern, the colonial subject and the native informant, can help us understand the function of the native character in the 20th century Quebec novel. While we believe the ambivalent, or simultaneously positive and negative images of the native can be better understood through the use of "imported" postcolonial theory, this paper will also point out the potential drawbacks and deficiencies of this approach. Of particular note, the historically complex colonial history of Quebec involving both French and British colonial regimes, its position within the First World, and the significant place occupied by the coureur des bois and Métis figures in Quebec literatures are all factors which must be considered in any application of "imported" postcolonial theory.