Book Review: The French-Canadian Outlook
| DOI | 10.1177/002070204700200113 |
| Published date | 01 March 1947 |
| Date | 01 March 1947 |
| Author | Charles Bilodeau |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book
Reviews
the
German
onslaught,
represents
a
mere
flight
from
reason when
we
remember
that
it
required
several years
for
the
coalesced
might
of
the
British
Commonwealth,
the
Soviet Union,
and the
United
States
to
overcome
the
prodigious
power
of
their
common
foe.
University
of
Saskatchewan, August
1946.
S.
Mack
Eastman
THE
FRENCH-CANADIAN
OUTLOOK.
A
Brief
Account
of
the
Unknown North
Americans.
By
Mason
Wade.
1946.
(New
York:
Viking
Press.
Toronto:
Macmillan.
192pp.
$2.50).
As
stated
in
the
preface,
"this
book
is
an
attempt
to show
in
brief
why
the
French
Canadians
think
and
act in
ways differing
from those
of
English-speaking North
Americans." The
author
has
tried
to
explain
the
mentality
of
French
Canadians
by
tracing
their
history up
to.
the
present
day.
Although
such
ar
analysis
is
fraught
with
difficulty,
this
historical approach
combined
with
psychological
insight
makes
worthy
reading.
The
author,
who
has
already
published
a
remarkable
biography
of
Francis
Parkman,
has
lived
in
French
Canada,
observed
and
travelled
widely,
and
read
almost
every
document
of
importance
on
his
subject.
He
writes
in
a
clear and
forceful
style, aims
to
be
objective
in
his
judg-
ments,
has
the gift
of
summing up
a
complex
situation
in
a
few
words
and
of
presenting
his
material
in
comprehensive
syntheses.
One
cannot
expect
much
new
material
on
French-Canadian history, yet the
author
occasionally
brings
out
some
novel
points;
he
makes
shrewd
observations
on
class
divisions
in
Quebec,
the
educational
system,
the
opposition
to
war,
ett.
His opinions,
however,
will
not
be
accepted
by
everyone,
e.g.
his
judgment
on
Groulx,
who
is
certainly
not today
the
racist
nor
the
ultra-nationalist
the
author
would imply.
French
Canadians
may
have
views
that
differ from those
of
the
majority
without
being
extremists.
Mr.
Wade
might have
painted
a
clearer picture
of
the
French-
Canadian
outlook
by
giving
more
stress
to
such
fundamental factors
as
their
religious-mindedness and
their
loyalty
to
Canada, which
have
so
much influenced
their
attitudes.
It
is
their
philosophy
of
life,
based
on
Roman
Catholicism,
which explains
their
views
on
social
questions,
their
educational
system,
their
accent
on
spiritual
values,
their
concep-
tion
of
the
family,
their
lack
of
acquisitiveness.
Furthermore French
Canadians
have
no
other
loyalty
than
to
Canada.
They
have
developed
a
national
consciousness
which
sets
them
apart
from
others;
provincialist
or
not,
they
think
as
Canadians
and
have
always
stood
for
Canadian
autonomy. The
author
alludes
to
these
factors,
which
explain
a
great
part
-of
French-Canadian behaviour,
but
perhaps
would
have
gained
in
clearness
by more emphasis upon
them.
The
present
book
is
the
epitome
of
a
more
detailed
and
documented
one to be
published
later
and
which
will
undoubtedly
complete
this
account
of
the
French-Canadian
mentality.
As
it
is,
however,
the
book
is
a
stimulating
study
on
French
Canada.
It
will
dispel
many
misunder-
standings
about
a
national
group
whose
attitudes
have
often
been
mis-
interpreted, and
thus
contribute
to
a
lessening
of
the
French-English
87
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