Michel Tremblay Criticism
Michel Tremblay is a seminal figure in French-Canadian literature, renowned for his vivid portrayals of Quebec society through drama, novels, and screenwriting. His works are characterized by intense dialogue and explore complex themes such as self-alienation, incest, and the absence of choice, often serving as metaphors for Quebec's societal struggles. His acclaimed play Les Belles-soeurs exemplifies his skill in blending psychological realism with innovative structures, as noted by Renate Usmiani, who highlights its postmodern elements. This play critiques the cultural challenges faced by French-Canadian women, showcasing Tremblay's capacity to authentically represent the community's experience, a point elaborated by Bruce Serafin.
Tremblay's body of work extends beyond traditional theater. His venture into musical theater and opera includes notable pieces like the historical opera NELLIGAN (1990). Although this work has received varied reception, as discussed in Kathy Mezei's review, it reflects his willingness to explore new forms. His contributions to the arts continue to resonate internationally, demonstrating his universal appeal and exploration of human values amidst societal constraints, a perspective shared by Catherine McQuaid.
Tremblay's novel La grosse femme d'à côté est enceinte is another testament to his narrative prowess, praised for its inventive techniques reminiscent of James Joyce, as noted by Douglas Hill. His works often incorporate a synthesis of theatrical traditions and regional concerns, offering insights into personal liberation and socio-political allegory. The play Hosanna, for example, explores the journey of self-acceptance within a homosexual couple, analyzed by Martin Gottfried, and reflects Tremblay's ongoing engagement with themes of identity and autonomy. As Renate Usmiani examines, Tremblay’s work remains pivotal, offering a powerful narrative of introspection and resilience in the quest for French-Canadian autonomy.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Tremblay, Michel (Vol. 29)
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'Hosanna' Opens at Bijou
(summary)
In the following essay, Martin Gottfried analyzes Michel Tremblay's play "Hosanna," highlighting its portrayal of a drag queen's journey to self-acceptance, despite its reliance on familiar homosexual themes and narrative shortcomings, ultimately praising the play's emotional depth and Tremblay's literary prowess.
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The Playwright As Star of the Play
(summary)
In the following essay, Martin Knelman criticizes Michel Tremblay's play Saint Carmen of the Main for its self-serving narrative, arguing that while Tremblay's use of street vernacular and lively characters is commendable, the play's depiction of artistic integrity as martyrdom reveals the author's exaggerated sense of his own revolutionary impact on Québec theatre.
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Of Fat Cats and Fates and Quebec's Moby Dick
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In the following essay, Mark Czarnecki argues that Michel Tremblay's La Grosse Femme employs fantastical and symbolic elements to explore themes of political and cultural oppression, highlighting the corruption of human relationships amidst the backdrop of World War II, ultimately redeemed by the emotional depth and autonomy of its characters.
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From Alienation to Transcendence: The Quest for Selfhood in Michel Tremblay's Plays
(summary)
In the following essay, John Ripley examines Michel Tremblay's eleven-play cycle, highlighting its social inquiry into Quebec's working-class milieu and the thematic exploration of alienation and identity crisis, drawing parallels with Fromm's theories, and presenting it as both a sociopolitical critique and allegory of Quebec's cultural struggles.
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Bonjour, là, bonjour
(summary)
In the following essay, Roger Ellis argues that Michel Tremblay's "Bonjour là Bonjour" uses the theme of incestuous love to critically explore modern family structures and cultural influences, and ultimately celebrates defiance against social conformity through its portrayal of characters choosing non-traditional lifestyles.
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First Impressions
(summary)
In the following essay, Douglas Hill examines Michel Tremblay's novel The Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant, highlighting its lyrical portrayal of the interconnected lives of women, the celebration of maternity and femininity, and its evocative depiction of a Montreal neighborhood infused with the harmonies of impending life.
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Paula Gilbert Lewis
(summary)
In the following essay, Paula Gilbert Lewis examines Michel Tremblay's novel "Thérèse et Pierrette à l'école des Saints-Anges," highlighting its blend of humor, satire, and characterization of repressive religious environments, while praising its interweaving of the lives and friendships of three young girls against the backdrop of 1940s Montreal.
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Canadian Plays Lacking Ideas and Critics
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In the following essay, Boyd Neil critiques Michel Tremblay's recent plays for their lack of complexity and character development, arguing that although Tremblay's dialogue is powerful, his plays are dominated by singular, dogmatic ideas that stifle tension and result in characters that fail to leap off the page.
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Studies in Canadian Literature: Michel Tremblay
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In the following essay, Renate Usmiani analyzes Michel Tremblay's work as a synthesis of different theatrical traditions and explores his ability to merge universal themes with specific regional concerns, illustrating how his plays reflect socio-political allegory, personal liberation, and a quest for transcendence through a tripartite setting that encompasses daily life, nightlife, and a realm of fantasy.
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Elaine R. Hopkins
(summary)
In the following essay, Elaine R. Hopkins argues that Michel Tremblay's play Les Anciennes Odeurs offers a realistic portrayal of a complex relationship between two men, emphasizing genuine emotional communication and tenderness beyond conventional stereotypes of masculinity, thus illustrating the universal human experience of love and connection.
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Ellen R. Babby
(summary)
In the following essay, Ellen R. Babby examines Michel Tremblay's novel La Duchesse et le roturier, highlighting its sophisticated narrative techniques, the interplay of reality and theatricality, and its literary references to Balzac, asserting that it is Tremblay's most significant contribution to Quebec literature.
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'Hosanna' Opens at Bijou
(summary)
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Tremblay, Michel (Vol. 102)
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Michel Tremblay's Seduction of the 'Other Solitude'
(summary)
In the following essay, McQuaid explains Tremblay's success in English Canada by examining the social concerns, 'highly' theatrical nature, and indigenous québécois qualities of his plays.
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Five Short Plays by Tremblay
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In the essay below, Serafin discusses how Tremblay's use of language affects the theatricality, characterization, humor, and dialogue of the five plays comprising La Duchesse de Langeais, and Other Plays.
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Michel Tremblay: An Interweave of Prose and Drama
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In the following essay, Gobin elucidates the relationship between the plays and the novels in the series 'Le Cycle des Belles-soeurs' and 'Les Chroniques du Plateau Mont-Royal,' stressing that 'it is only by coming to know the plays that one can have an idea of what is being woven in the novels.'
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School Days
(summary)
In the favorable review below, Moss summarizes the plot and themes of Thérèse et Pierrette. Shelia Fischman has performed another valuable service for Anglophones in translating Michel Tremblay's 1980 novel, Thérèse et Pierrette à l'école des Saints-Anges. Tremblay's Montreal is a personalized fictional world in which the characters of his plays act out their past in the author's old neighbourhood near la rue Fabre. The second volume of this 'comédie humaine montréalaise' focuses on a trio of eleven-year-old girls who will play lead roles in the elaborate Corpus Christi celebration put on for the Saint Stanislas de Kostka parish during the first week of June 1942.
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Sins of the Father
(summary)
In the following review, Strunk finds Remember Me "a fine monodramatic miniature." Remember Me is the translation of Michel Tremblay's Les Anciennes Odeurs (1981), a one-act piece that explores the anxieties of two homosexual but not very gay ex-lovers ambushed by their mid-life crisis and the growing suspicion of their mediocrity. The mode is, or appears to be, relentlessly confessional: if it weren't for the pregnant silences that would have done Harold Pinter proud, the two figures would have talked themselves to death. Visually highlighting the confessional mode is the focal point of the piece, a large, wornout leather armchair in and in front of which Luc and Jean-Marc alternatively sit and kneel as they demonstrate that the need for affection is mutual.
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A review of Albertine in Five Times
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In the following review, Paul comments on Tremblay's critique of patriarchy in Albertine in Five Times. The chief difficulty in translating Albertine in Five Times, originally published in French in 1984, stems from the fact that Tremblay's play was written in joual. Thus, much of the colourful charm and poetic forcefulness of the language is lost in the English translation. Although disappointing, this departure from the original text may have been unavoidable.
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Le Premier quartier de la lune
(summary)
In the favorable review below, Kroller relates the plot of Le Premier quartier de la lune, which concludes Tremblay's five-volume 'Chroniques du Plateau Mont-Royal.' The review discusses the evolution of the character Marcel and the themes of childhood, language, and the impact of television, culminating in a chronicle of despair and a beginning marked by the imagery of flight.
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Poet's Dilemma
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In the review below, Mezei faults Tremblay's 'clicked and tainted' libretto for NELLIGAN, finding that his 'lines do not rise to his usual exuberant eloquence.'
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The Bingocentric Worlds of Michel Tremblay and Tomson Highway, Les Belles-Soeurs vs. The Rez Sisters
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In the following essay, Usmiani compares Les Belles-soeurs to Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters, demonstrating how both plays parallel aspects of postmodern theater but express a different spirit.
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Michel Tremblay's Seduction of the 'Other Solitude'
(summary)
- Further Reading