Oldal 62 [62]
OCR
CANADIAN LANDSCAPES/ PAYSAGES CANADIENS important aspect of Canadian self-definition, reinforcing a binary opposition in which “normative Canadianness is White and British" (34). Everything else, however much welcomed, accepted, or tolerated, is thus “the Other” and is usually marked accordingly with terms such as “multicultural”, “multiethnic” or in another way that emphasizes otherness and difference. In The Diviners, Laurence highlights the character of Morag’s daughter Pique, the offspring of a Scottish-Canadian mother and a Métis father, to point out the coexistence of different cultural backgrounds in Canada and thus create a diverse and more inclusive literary landscape. Pique is a representative of the young generation in which Laurence sees hope of reconciliation. Like her mother, Pique embarks on a complicated journey to find her roots and come to terms with her mixed heritage. Through the character of Pique, listening to her father’s stories about her heroic ancestors fighting alongside Luis Riel for the Métis rights, Laurence reveals the tensions between Indigenous and settler cultures. But Pique’s father also tells her a poignant story of the Métis part of her family, a story whose fragments are embedded in all five Manawaka books: about his brother Paul, who had drowned at twenty-five and whose death was never properly investigated; about his sister Val, who died at twenty-seven as a drug-addicted prostitute; and about his second sister Piquette and her kids who tragically died in the fire at their shack in Manawaka. In this bitter summary, Laurence points out the unfair treatment and discrimination against Indigenous people and their social exclusion. Pique’s identity as the descendant of both the settlers and the Métis means that she is placed between two cultural landscapes, without fully belonging to either. Drawing from the ancestral mythologies of both her parents, Pique embodies the emerging Canadian multiethnic feminine identity of the 1970s. Her journey of self-discovery interweaves with her connection to her ancestry, underscoring Laurence’s broader exploration of the transformative power of landscapes and storytelling. As Morag embarks on her pilgrimage to Scotland and Pique on her journey to Galloping Mountain to rejoin her Métis relatives, both quests transcend mere genealogy, evolving into searches for a deeper understanding of themselves and reconciliation with their ancestral heritage. The Manawaka series concludes with Pique’s song, which says “I can’t help but being torn. [...] But the valley and the mountain hold my name” (Laurence, The Diviners 382) and in which Pique embraces her Scottish and Métis heritage. As Sassi points out, Pique’s construction of identity works “through identification with land, with space, which has not been domesticated or acculturated” (168). Through the landscape metaphors of the valley, representing the Métis Prairie heritage, and a mountain of Scottish ancestry, Laurence underscores the importance of reconciliation — an embrace of both the triumphs and challenges of the past, as a crucial element in forging an inclusive Canada. +60 +»
