Hybridity and Intercultural Exchange in Marco Micone’s Le Figuier enchanté

This article examines the expression of the immigrant experience in Le Figuier enchanté (1992), focusing on the notions of hybridity and intercultural exchange. The text is shown to constitute a form of intercultural dialogue, while also demonstrating some barriers to such dialogue, such as old-stock Québécois “obsession” with protecting French, or an overattachment to ethnicity on the part of immigrants. Micone’s “surconscience linguistique” (Gauvin), is explored both through his use of language and through his consideration of linguistic politics in Quebec. The possibility of an “enchanted” hybridity is mooted, although this is shown to remain somewhat aspirational