L’errance de l’artiste dans La Montagne secrète de Gabrielle Roy

The aim of the article is to examine the figure of a vagabond and an artist in the novel The Hidden Mountain (La Montagne secrète) by Gabrielle Roy which, according to Antoine Boisclair, is the first Quebec novel completely devoted to painting. It presents the wandering of the artist who does not perceive his vagabondage as movement from one place to another, but regards it as the essence of both his existence and his creation. First, the analysis explores the problem of wandering as narrative basis, examining the tension between the external reality and the inner experience of the painter. Then, the aim of the artist’s journey, symbolically delineated by the Hidden Mountain, is analyzed. The final part of the article is devoted to the concept of art presented in the novel, with particular emphasis on the humanistic dimension of artistic creation.The aim of the article is to examine the figure of a vagabond and an artist in the novel The Hidden Mountain (La Montagne secrète) by Gabrielle Roy which, according to Antoine Boisclair, is the first Quebec novel completely devoted to painting. It presents the wandering of the artist who does not perceive his vagabondage as movement from one place to another, but regards it as the essence of both his existence and his creation. First, the analysis explores the problem of wandering as narrative basis, examining the tension between the external reality and the inner experience of the painter. Then, the aim of the artist’s journey, symbolically delineated by the Hidden Mountain, is analyzed. The final part of the article is devoted to the concept of art presented in the novel, with particular emphasis on the humanistic dimension of artistic creation