Journal Entry #4

In her essay Noel is arguing that historians have to take a different view of the role of woman in pre-confederation Canada. Up to the point where she was writing her article and even now the role of women is largely misunderstood. Some had argued that women were either a “push”[1] or “pull”[2] factor to lure men into coming and staying in the colonies. However, Noel would argue the exact opposite. Noel has found evidence that women were not only able to contribute as much to the household as men but in many cases they would do more. For example, women had their duties inside the household such as cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the children, but they also would take part in the farming and sewing and trading as well. As Noel says “The “nagging wife” may not have joined her husband in the canoe, but there was a good chance she grew the tobacco, made the shirts he took west to trade – maybe even made the canoe itself!”[3] Which suggests that woman played a much larger role in pre confederation Canada that anyone ever thought.  It was even possible for a woman to be the head of her own household and be financially independent. For example Louis Denys de La Ronde seized the opportunity of taking her husband’s land after he passed and with it she ended up earning “over 46,000 Livres”[4]. Essentially what Noel is trying to do is to shed a light on what woman were and how successful they could become in pre confederation Canada. Through the evidence she presents she shows that woman thrived if they were resourceful, and ambitious enough. In Adrienne Ledeauc’s letter to Jeanne she is trying to communicate to Jeanne how similar they were and after having spent time researching her life she can draw similar experiences between them. Ledeauc catalogues Jeanne’s journey as a fille du roi and the coditions that she woud have had to deal with. She speaks about what the journey from France to New France would have been like and how they were in danger of pirate attacks and disease. She also discusses how upon arrival to the colonies the woman would be greeted by men who could “be deprived of the right to trade, hunt, or fish. And the privileges of church and community would be withheld from them”[5]  She talks about how Jeanne may have felt pressured to marry her husband based on this and also how easy it would be to fall into one of these pre-arranged marriages especially when all of her friends were doing the same. She ends her letter with addressing how she is a war bride from 1946 and how as she sailed across the Atlantic she felt “I can identify with you, Jeanne, because I was one of these young women”[6] Adrienne Ledauc felt that her journey perfectly coincided with Jeanne’s and because of this she felt necessary to do more research into the fille du roi and in particular Jeanne Faucheaux.

 

Bibliography

Adrienne Ledeauc, “A Fille Du Roi’s Passage” 81 (2001) 1.

Jan Noel, “Nagging Wife” Revisited: Women and the Fur Trade in New France” French Colonial History 7    (2006) 2.

 

 

[1] Jan Noel, “Nagging Wife” Revisited: Women and the Fur Trade in New France” French Colonial History 7 (2006) 2.

[2] Noel, “Nagging Wife” 2.

[3] Noel, “Nagging Wife” 13.

[4] Noel, “Nagging Wife” 5.

[5] Adrienne Ledeauc, “A Fille Du Roi’s Passage” 81 (2001) 1.

[6] Ledeauc, “A Fille Du Roi’s Passage” 1.