The book ‘A Season in the Life of Emmanuel’ Marie-Claire Blais is a
Canadian classic which provides a critical perspective of the harsh realities
of life. It presents readers in a context that is oppressive and provides its
connection with religious beliefs and ideals. To carefully piece together the
purpose of the text, readers must carefully locate themes that influence
character development and change. In
seeking to understand the themes presented by Blais, consideration must be made
on areas related to the negative impact of religion, abuse, patriarchal
families, power and conflict. These concepts are essential in helping
understand the story and how characters interact with the issues they face.
A critical theme that is presented by Blais in the book corresponds
to the negative impact of religion. Arguably, this remains to be one of the
central areas highlighted by the story. Here, the clergy and the overall
concept of religion are presented as flawed and oppressive. It is flawed
because it fails to recognize the suffering of the family and continues to
maintain the status quo. Likewise, it is oppressive because the priests have
been subjected to scandals and sexual abuse. A good viewpoint to show this was
the case of Héloise, a nun who was subjected to exploitation of her innocence.
This is presented figuratively by Blais as she provides the following quote:
“Héloise
was unable to make out of anything in this depraved fairy landscape but the
chaste foot of a girl depicted as spurning full of toads – as in other pictures
she had been the Virgin spurn the head of the malignant serpent” (Blais,
116).
The end result was disgust on the part of Héloise as she left the
convent to became a prostitute. This sad reality is one evidence of how Blais
exhibits the abuses of the Catholic faith. Using the perspective of Sampson, he
provides that “Blais’s intention is to show the dehumanizing heart of religion,
especially Catholicism, and to do so through the prism of a morose and
exaggerated absurdity” (1).
Also central to the story is the
issue of abuses. It was stated in the previous part about the Catholic abuses.
In this case, the concept of abuse revolves around how it somewhat resembles a
norm in the story. This means that the process of hurting people and domestic
violence remains to be an acceptable act. Such harsh reality can also be seen
with the family that Blais describes. Here, readers are able to see the
oppressive nature of the father and how he continues to exercise his authority
with both his wife and children. A good example to showcase abuse is how the
father maintained discipline by beating his children. As Blais puts it:
“He
wanted to know everything, poor child. It was his curiosity that killed him.
His father beat him too much. You’ll be beaten, too, if you ask questions.
Better keep quiet and go out to chop wood like the others” (104).
Similarly, the abuse doesn’t necessarily stop in the application of
violence. Arguably, Blais also shows how abuse is manifested in terms of
demonstrating irresponsibility to the father. Considering his continued attempt
to produce many children, the inability to provide sufficiently can also be
counted as abuse. Rather than providing for the family, the father is unable to
make ends meet effectively. Arguably, it is this traumatic feature that makes
the process of abuse apparent from the family level up to the social realities
like religion.
Related to the process of abuse is
the ability of the father to control the decisions of the family. Arguably,
this relationship demonstrates a patriarchal family. This means that the father
continues to exert authority and he remains to be in control of all things. From
the vantage point of Blais, it clearly shows an authoritarian perspective for
the family. Without much choice, the children follow their father’s wishes. The
sad reality about this is that these decisions often lead them to be exposed to
further abuses or violence. This is particularly problematic especially with
how the children were brought up. A good quote from the book that provides this
says:
“But
your father is as stubborn as an ox, as simple as a fish! He throws his
children out of the house before they know how to fend for themselves like
grown-up men. I wonder what will become of him without those three fingers” (Blais, 105).
Interestingly, there is also the correlation of Grand-mère
Antoinette and the father. Here, Blais portrays this character to also be in
control of the family affairs. Arguably, the role of Antoinette in the story is
an extension of the father and remains to be in control of the family affairs.
The end result is the role of the mother is reduced to mainly the child-bearer
or the one who takes care of the children. “In this novel of transgression and
subversion, mother's position as gatekeeper of tradition is de-glorified. While
Grand-mère Antoinette seems to fulfill that role in a rather untraditional way,
as she dominates men and even clergymen, Emmanuel's mother is a victim to be
pitied” (Andersen 1).
Lastly, the book emphasizes the
interaction of power and conflict. Since it was argued in the previous sections
how abuse remains to be a dominant theme, the interaction of power remains to
be controlled by a few people and the religious institution (Natalie’s Reviews
1). Integrating the issue of power and conflict, there are contradictions to
how the sons and daughter perceive their interest of living their life compared
to their father. For example, the harsh reality of being named number 7 and his
interest in poetry led him in conflict with his family. The depressing part
about this was that he developed the bad habit of stealing. This negative trait
can be attributed to his inability to define who he is. Even his name makes his
story saddening. A good way to demonstrate this is when he continued to justify
his why he would need to steal. As Blais provides:
“Number
Seven was walking in Silence, preoccupied with all the bicycles and car
headlights he was going to steal. Without doubt the would end up in prison, as
his father often told him. He no longer has any hope of finding a cure for his need to steal. He
had gone too far to turn back now”(134).
Sadly, the same fate also happened to other characters as they
continue to fall for the system that was specifically setup to oppress and
maintain control. This is particularly a challenge to overcome and more often
than not provide emphasis on how gruesome and horrible the environment which Blais
created. Also, each story is connected with one another in such a way that it
gives the impression of violence, oppression and power struggle as it applies
to their individual life. As Sampson contends, “the results are, paradoxically,
more heart-felt and harrowing because she doesn’t simply hold a
one-dimensional mirror up to her readers” (1). There are clear depictions of
such realities throughout the text.
In conclusion, Marie-Claire Blais
piece showcases the harsh realities of life. It gives impression on how
religion, oppression and abuses remain to be prevalent. It also shows how these
themes continue to promote the status quo by controlling the character’s
individual beliefs and values. The use of these themes remain to be manifested
in each character as they try to struggle and find meaning in this gruesome
reality they had to live in. Sadly, the story ends the same way as it continues
to expose the inability of these characters to find hope to this harsh reality.
Works Cited
Andersen, Marguerite. ‘Subversive Texts: Quebec Women Writers’ Studies in Canadian
Literature, 1988 vol. 13 no. 2, Web Available from <http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/scl/article/view/8081/9138>
Blais, Marie-Claire. A Season in the Life of Emmanuel. 2009 Canada; Exile Edition. Print.
Natalie’s Reviews. ‘A Season in the Life of Emmanuel by Marie-Claire Blais’ Good Reads 2011
Web Available from <http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/186650485>
Sampson, Mark. Review: A Season in the Life of Emmanuel, by Marie-Claire Blais 2011 Web
Available from <http://freerangereading.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-season-in-life-of-emmanuel-by.html>
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