Maria Chapdelaine

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness and death.

Louis Hémon based Maria Chapdelaine on a Québec undergoing a major shift. At a time when many French-Canadians were departing their homeland to move to industrial centers, young Québécois faced a difficult decision between remaining loyal to their homeland and the centuries-long lineage of their pioneer ancestors, or seeking better opportunities elsewhere. Hémon thus uses this dilemma to explore the tensions between duty and personal fulfillment.

For Maria, this choice comes when she selects her future husband. As a young woman in a patriarchal society, the most agency Maria is allowed over her future is in her choice of suitor. In François, she briefly has a happy medium between tradition and self-determination. Though François is not a habitant, his work relies on the land and is seen as a legitimate expression of French-Canadian identity. Maria truly loves François, and his lifestyle is more appealing and lucrative than that of a farmer. Their brief betrothal is a happy time for Maria, who looks forward to a life filled with “warmth and unfading color” (35).

After François’s death, Maria is left to pick between Eutrope and Lorenzo.