La resistance tranquille
Subtitle: decolonisation et postcolonialisme chez Hubert Aquin et Jacques Ferron : by Sandra Claire  Hobbs.
Published: 2004
Language: fre
Number of pages: 295
ISBN-13: 9780494159767
Subjects: French-Canadian literature -- History and criticism.
Description: This study will examine how the concept of resistance manifests itself in the Qub̌čois novel of the Quiet Revolution (1960-1975) by analyzing two important novels of the period, Prochain p̌isode by Hubert Aquin (1965) and Les confitures de coings by Jacques Ferron (1972). The analysis alternates between the theoretical approaches to resistance provided by decolonization theory, which informed the initial reception of these novels, and by contemporary postcolonial theory, which offers important differences in the identification of sites and means of resistance. In reading the two novels within this dual theoretical framework, it is hoped that new perspectives can be gained on how resistance is inscribed in the literary text, as well as on how postcolonial theory can be used to provide new understanding of the Qub̌čois novel of this period. The objectives of this study are thus twofold: in the first instance, the ways in which two theorists, Albert Memmi representing decolonization theory and Homi Bhabha representing postcolonial theory, conceptualize resistance are compared in order to underline the fundamental differences between them. Secondly, Aquin's and Ferron's novels are read from both theoretical perspectives on resistance. The interpretations suggested by decolonization theory are supported by the existing criticism of the novel, as well as the authors' own stances in relation to decolonization theory. The novels are subsequently re-read in light of Bhabha's views of resistance. This comparative reading both illustrates the differences in conceptualizing resistance provided by the two theoretical approaches and offers new interpretations of how resistance is inscribed in the literary text. Some of the issues studied by the double theoretical readings are the role of cultural activities in resistance, the signification given to imitation of the colonizer by the colonized and the function of the stereotype in both colonial domination and anti-colonial resistance. By using the concepts provided by postcolonial theory, such as ambivalence, mimicry and hybridity, and by taking into account the insights afforded by decolonization theory, the richness and varietly of resistance strategies employed by writers of the Quiet Revolution will be brought to light.
Notes: Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Toronto, 2004.

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