In search of female identity in the rural novel

This thesis deals with the phenomenon of French-Canadian literature, the rural novel, from the point of view of the author Germaine Guèvremont. The aim of the thesis is to reveal how the literary genre helped the Quebec women to create their propre literary tradition, how they managed to open purely women topics within this specific genre and how this helped to define their identity. The first part clarifies the origin of the genre based on the nationalist ideology and the traditional values such as native land, family, and religion. These values were associated with the French-Canadian identity as well as they defined the social hierarchy which placed women into inferior position in the society. The second part examines the social status of women in Quebec at the time of the biggest popularity of the genre. In this part, women are also shown as the protagonists of the novels, as well as the bearers of the female literary tradition. The third and last part is dedicated to the analysis of Germaine Guèvremont's novels, Le Survenant and Marie- Didace. It focuses on the characteristics of the female characters as individuals, the narrative and language devices, and finally on the topics such as marriage, friendship between women and motherhood