Abstract
This chapter examines the question of seriality and the notion of the writer building bridges between discrete texts through the genre convention of the “cycle.” Élisabeth Vonarburg’s “Bridge Cycle” (1980–2009) explicitly features a bridge that allows her protagonists to travel between parallel worlds. Bérard examines her work in tandem with that of one of Québec’s most famous “mainstream” writers, Michel Tremblay. Best known for his pathbreaking theatrical works set in Montréal’s gay community, in his earliest fiction Tremblay was influenced by H. P. Lovecraft, and he consistently invokes the supernatural. Admitting that these writers’ corpuses are quite different, Bérard nonetheless teases out how they create fictional worlds that traverse textual boundaries. The study shows the crossings between the two universes; how Vonarburg’s science fiction and fantasy (sff) is anchored in the genre in both a transnational and specifically Québécois fashion, and how Tremblay’s intrinsically Québécois world has always been connected to the fantastical.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arino, Marc. 2007. L’apocalypse selon Michel Tremblay. Bordeaux: Presses universitaires de Bordeaux.
Barrette, Jean-Marc. 1996. L’univers de Michel Tremblay. Dictionnaire des personnages. Montréal: Presses de l’Université de Montréal.
Barrette, Jean-Marc Barrette, and Serge Bergeron. 2014. L’univers de Michel Tremblay. Dictionnaire des personnages. 2e éd. Montréal: Leméac.
Bélair, Michel. 2014. “L’univers de Michel Tremblay. Dictionnaire des personnages, 2e édition, Jean-Marc Barrette-Serge Bergeron.” Le Devoir (December 13).
Bérard, Sylvie. 1995. “Les nouvelles d’Élisabeth Vonarburg ou la nouvelle au-delà du recueil.” XYZ. La revue de la nouvelle 43 (Fall): 69–84.
———. 1998. “Fictional Arborescence and Allusive Coherence in Élisabeth Vonarburg’s Universe.” In Perspectives on the Canadian Fantastic: Proceedings of the 1997 Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Alan Weiss, 35–46. Toronto: ACCSFF.
———. 1999. “Venues, vues, vécues: Entre le sujet science-fictionnel et l’auteure science-fictive.” Dalhousie French Studies 47: 115–132.
Boisvert, Donald L. 2003. “Heavenly Signs from Below: A Religious Reading of Michel Tremblay’s Chroniques du Plateau-Mont-Royal.” Literature and Theology 17 (2): 141–55.
Brochu, André. 2002. Rêver la lune. L’imaginaire de Michel Tremblay dans les Chroniques du Plateau Mont-Royal. Montréal: Hurtubise.
Cambron, Micheline. 1989. Une société, un récit. Discours culturel au Québec (1967–1976). Montréal: L’Hexagone.
Chanady, Amaryll Beatrice. 1985. Magical Realism and the Fantastic: Resolved Versus Unresolved Antinomy. Shrewsbury: Garland Press.
Clute, John. 2017. “Michel Tremblay.” SFE: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. June 13. Accessed February 21, 2018. http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tremblay_michel.
David, Gilbert, and Pierre Lavoie, eds. 1993. Le monde de Michel Tremblay, des Belles-Sœurs à Marcel poursuivi par les chiens. Montréal et Carnières: Cahiers de théâtre Jeu/Éditions Lansman.
———. 2003. Le Monde de Michel Tremblay: Tome 1: Théâtre. New Rev. ed. Carnières: Lansman/Cahiers de théâtre Jeu.
———. 2005. Le Monde de Michel Tremblay: Tome 2: Romans et récits. New Rev. ed. Carnières: Lansman/Cahiers de théâtre Jeu.
Fréchette, Louis. 1974. Les contes de Jos Violon. Montréal: L’Aurore.
Gravel, Anne-Marie. 2007. “Ni d’ici… ni d’ailleurs.” Progrès-dimanche, 18 February, B3.
Janelle, Claude. 1994. “Le roman postmoderne de Vonarburg.” Lettres québécoises (74): 34–35.
Lafon, Dominique. [1993] 2005. “Les personnages de Tremblay: de la généalogie à la genèse.” In Le monde de Michel Tremblay. Tome 2: Romans et récits. New Rev. ed., edited by Gilbert David and Pierre Lavoie, 119–52. Carnières: Lansman/Cahiers de théâtre Jeu.
Nadeau, Amélie. 2005. Une passerelle entre le réel et l’imaginaire: l’univers musical dans les Chroniques du plateau Mont-Royal et L’Oratorio de Noël de Göran Tunström. Montréal: Presses de l’Université du Québec.
Popovic, Pierre. 2005. “La Rue Fable.” In Le monde de Michel Tremblay. Tome 2: Romans et récits. New Rev. ed., edited by Gilbert David and Pierre Lavoie, 45–61. Carnières: Lansmann/Cahiers de théâtre Jeu.
Rochefort, Linda. 2001. “Le réalisme magique dans l’œuvre de Michel Tremblay.” MA thesis, Université de Montréal, Montréal.
Rochon, François. 1999. “Fatalisme et merveilleux chez Michel Tremblay. Une lecture des Chroniques du Plateau Mont-Royal.” Voix et Images 24 (2): 372–95.
Saint-Gelais, Richard. 1999. L’empire du pseudo. Québec: Nota bene.
Serruys, Nicholas. 2014. “Revisiting and Revising History Through Subjectivity in Élisabeth Vonarburg’s Bridge Cycle.” Translated by Amy J. Ransom. Science Fiction Studies 41 (1): 93–119.
Todorov, Tzvetan. 1970. Introduction à la littérature fantastique. Paris: Seuil.
Tremblay, Michel. 1968. Les belles-soeurs. Montréal: Holt, Rinehart and Wilson.
———. 1975. En pièces détachées. Translated by Allan Van Meer. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 1970. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 1977. Stories for Late Night Drinkers. Translated by Michael Bullock. Vancouver: Intermedia. Originally Published 1966. Contes pour buveurs attardés. Montréal: Éditions du jour.
———. 1981a. The Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant (Volume 1 of Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal). Translated by Sheila Fischman. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 1978. La grosse femme d’à côté est enceinte. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 1981b. Sainte-Carmen of the Main. Translated by John Van Burek. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 1976. Sainte-Carmen de la Main. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 1988. The Real World? Translated by John Van Burek and Bill Glassco. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 1986. Le vrai monde? Montréal: Leméac.
———. 1994. The First Quarter of the Moon (Volume 5 of Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal). Translated by Sheila Fischman. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 1989. Le premier quartier de la lune. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 1996. Thérèse and Pierrette and the Little Hanging Angel (Volume 2 of Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal). Translated by Sheila Fischman. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 1980. Thérèse et Pierrette à l’école des Saints-Anges. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 1998a. A Thing of Beauty (Volume 6 of Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal). Translated by Sheila Fischman. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 1997. Un objet de beauté. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 1998b. For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Translated by Linda Gaboriau. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 1998. Encore une fois, si vous permettez. Montréal: Leméac.
———.1999a. The City in the Egg. Translated by Michael Bullock. Vancouver: Ronsdale. Originally Published 1969. La cité dans l’œuf. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 1999b. The Duchess and the Commoner (Volume 3 of Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal). Translated by Sheila Fischman. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 1982. La duchesse et le roturier. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 2005. The Driving Force. Translated by Linda Gaboriau. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 2003. L’impératif présent. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 2006a. The Black Notebook. Translated by Sheila Fischman. Vancouver: Talonbooks. Originally Published 2003. Le cahier noir. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 2006b. Le trou dans le mur. Montréal: Leméac.
———. 2012. L’Oratorio de Noël. Montréal: Leméac.
Vas-Deyres, Natacha. 2014. Natacha Vas-Deyres s’entretient avec Élisabeth Vonarburg. November 15. Accessed January 29, 2018. http://www.revue-critique-de-fixxion-francaise-contemporaine.org/rcffc/article/view/fx09.12/907.
Vonarburg, Élisabeth. 1980. L’œil de la nuit. Longueuil: Le Préambule.
———. 1984. Janus. Paris: Denoël.
———. 1987. “Cold Bridge.” Translated by Élisabeth Vonarburg and Jane Brierley. In Invisible Fictions: Contemporary Stories from Québec, edited by Geoff Hancock, 267–97. Toronto: House of Anansi. Originally Published 1980. “Le pont du froid.” In L’œil de la nuit, 43–74. Longueuil: Le Préambule.
———. 1995. Reluctant Voyagers. Translated by Jane Brierley. New York: Bantam. Originally Published 1994. Les voyageurs malgré eux. Montréal: Québec/Amérique.
———. 1999. Le lever du récit. Montréal: Les Herbes rouges.
———. 2000a. “The Knot.” In Slow Engines of Time, edited by Élisabeth Vonarburg, translated by Aliosha Kondratiev and Élisabeth Vonarburg, 104–13. Edmonton: Tesseract Books. Originally Published 1980. In L’œil de la nuit, 127–40. Longueuil: Le Préambule.
———. 2000b. “The Slow Engine of Time.” In Slow Engines of Time, edited by Élisabeth Vonarburg, translated by Howard Scott and Élisabeth Vonarburg, 114–57. Edmonton: Tesseract Books. Originally Published 1984. “La machine lente du temps.” In Janus, 63–116. Paris: Denoël.
———. 2003. Tyranaël 1: Dreams of the Sea. Translated by Élisabeth Vonarburg and Howard Scott. Calgary: Edge. Originally Published 1996, Tyranaël 1: Les rêves de la Mer. Beauport: Alire.
———. 2005a. Reine de mémoire 1: La Maison d’oubli. Lévis: Alire.
———. 2005b. “See Kathryn Run.” Translated by Élisabeth Vonarburg and Howard Scott. In Tesseracts 9, edited by Geoff Ryman and Nalo Hopkinson, 93–140. Calgary: Edge. Originally Published 2003. “La course de Kathryn.” In Le jeu des coquilles de nautilus, 77–138. Lévis: Alire.
———. 2006. Tyranaël 2: A Game of Perfection. Translated by Élisabeth Vonarburg and Howard Scott. Calgary: Edge. Originally Published 1996, Tyranaël 2: Le jeu de la perfection. Beauport: Alire.
———. 2007. Reine de mémoire 5: La Maison d’équité. Lévis: Alire.
———. 2009. “Terminus.” In Sang de pierre, edited by Élisabeth Vonarburg, 335–73. Lévis: Alire.
———. 2014. Hôtel Olympia. Lévis: Alire.
———. 2018. CVS: Centres-villes de Saguenay. 17 March. Accessed April 27, 2018. https://cvs.saguenay.ca.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bérard, S. (2019). Holes Within and Bridges Beyond: The Transfictions of Élisabeth Vonarburg and Michel Tremblay. In: Ransom, A., Grace, D. (eds) Canadian Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Studies in Global Science Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15685-5_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15685-5_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15684-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15685-5
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)