Antonine Maillet
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Antonine Maillet

Antonine Maillet
Born 1920s.
Ancestors ancestors
[sibling(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Profile last modified | Created 5 Jun 2012
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Biography

Antonine Maillet has been hailed as the "soul of contemporary Acadian Literature" for her work which reflects the "dialect and heritage of the Acadian people".[1]Her many honors include a Governor General's Award, the coveted French Prix Goncourt, and a number of honorary doctorates.

Acadian Flag
Antonine Maillet is a descendant of an Acadian

Antonine was born in 1929. She is the daughter of Léonide Maillet and Virginie Cormier. [2]

Antonine Maillet grew up on the coast of New Brunswick, in a life intertwined with a rich Acadian heritage, fanciful legends, and folk tales.[3]

In 1931, two-year-old Antonine was the youngest of the eight children of Leonide and Virginie Maillet. The eight children ranged in age from Antonine at two to Anna at 14. The family identified their heritage as French, and their mother tongue as French. The Maillets were living in Wellington, New Brunswick, Canada where Leonide was a salesman at a retail store.[4]

Antonine attended the Université Laval and received a Ph.D. in literature. She taught at that institution among others. She published her first novel in 1958, and went on to write nearly 20 more, plus a number of plays.[1]

Antonine's Acadian heritage set the stage for many of her notable works. According to the University of Ottawa, who awarded Maillet an honorary doctorate, "Before [Antonine Maillet], Acadian fiction existed only in oral tradition".[5] Her cultural ties to the Acadians were evident in her novel "Pelagie", which dealt with the return of a band of sojourners to their homeland after their forced expulsion by Britain in the mid-eighteenth century.[6] In Pelagie, Maillet masterfully used a blend of folk tales, unusual syntax, and a variety of literary devices to portray the feelings of the exiles for their homeland, their community, and their independence. For her efforts, Maillet was awarded the French Prix Goncourt Award.[7]

Maillet's one-woman stage play titled "la Sagouine" also dealt with Acadian culture and heritage and was performed over 600 times throughout Canada and in Paris. [8]

Maillet attributed her literary success to leaving behind the "King's French" and using the language spoken by the people around her. In writing the way that "real people" spoke, she was, in her words, liberated. Her work has focused on the language and culture of the Acadian people -- people who, at the time of the interview in the 1970s made-up 40 percent of the New Brunswick population and were still struggling with an oppression that began in 1762.[9]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 Antonine Maillet
    The Canadian Encyclopedia, original publication date: October 16, 2011, updated April 13, 2015
    viewed at https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/antonine-maillet on 9 March 2024
  2. https://books.google.com/books?id=Mkh2vJ_9GpEC&pg=PA701&lpg=PA701&dq=antonine+maillet+leonide&source=bl&ots=bh8f1Oy-CY&sig=Q_fm1jrUF0GFtPYGejoa-5H6cgs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjslJS5h-vWAhXDSyYKHaMaBkg4ChDoAQglMAA#v=onepage&q=antonine%20maillet%20leonide&f=false
  3. Antonine Maillet eschews history for tale set in 8th day of creation
    The Gazette Sat, Oct 04, 1986 ·Page 23, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  4. 1931 Census: "1931 Census of Canada"
    Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Seventh Census of Canada, 1931; Folder Number: T-27199; Census Place: Kent, New Brunswick, Canada; Page Number: 30
    Ancestry Record 62640 #4495810 (accessed 8 March 2024)
    Antonine Maillet (2), single daughter, in household of Leonide Maillet (47) in Par of Wellington, Wellington, New Brunswick, Canada. Born in New Bruswick.
  5. Profile of Antonine Maillet
    u Ottawa
    https://www.uottawa.ca/about-us/president/honorary-doctorates/maillet-antonine; viewed March 9, 2023
  6. Pelagie
    The Sault Star Sat, Apr 10, 1982 ·Page 36; Sault St. Marie, Ontario, Quebec
  7. Canadian's novel worthy winner of France's top prize
    The Ottawa Citizen Sat, Feb 16, 1980 ·Page 35; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  8. Antonine in Movieland
    The Ottawa Citizen Sat, Feb 16, 1980 ·Page 35; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  9. Antonine Maillet: Notes from another minority
    The Gazette Sat, May 25, 1974 ·Page 15, Montreal

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"Antonine Maillet devient grande officière de l'ordre national du Mérite en France", voir http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1065910/france-antonine-maillet-romanciere-grand-officier-ordre-national-merite
posted by Denise Chiasson

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