The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy
"The Tin Flute," written by Gabrielle Roy and published in 1945, is a poignant novel set against the backdrop of late winter 1940 in Montreal, during a time when Canadians are grappling with the aftermath of the Great Depression and the onset of World War II. The story centers around Florentine Lacasse, a young woman from a struggling family living in the impoverished St. Henri district. Working as a waitress, Florentine is caught between her dreams of a better life and the harsh realities of her surroundings. The novel explores themes of poverty, familial obligations, and the complexities of social class through the interactions of Florentine with various characters, including her father Azarius and potential suitors Jean and Emmanuel.
Through the lens of Florentine’s experiences, readers witness the socio-economic challenges faced by French Canadians and the impact of war on individual lives and relationships. The narrative delves into Florentine's ambitions, her relationships, and ultimately, the choices she makes in a society fraught with limitations. The book’s exploration of gender roles and familial dynamics adds depth to its portrayal of the struggles of working-class individuals, making it a significant piece in Canadian literature that reflects the broader social issues of the time.
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The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy
First published:Bonheur d’occasion, 1945 (English translation, 1947)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of plot: February to June, 1940
Locale: Montreal
Principal characters
Florentine Lacasse , a waitressRose-Anna , her motherAzarius , her fatherEugene , her oldest brotherJean Lévesque , a young machinist, and Florentine’s loverEmmanuel Létourneau , a soldier, and Florentine’s suitorDaniel , Florentine’s youngest brother
The Story:
In the late winter of 1940, Canadians are emerging from the effects of the Great Depression and now face the outbreak of World War II. One young woman, Florentine Lacasse, helps support her family by working as a waitress at the lunch counter in a five-and-dime store in Montreal’s St. Henri slum district. The lunch area’s flashy decor, which appeals to Florentine’s shallow taste, stirs her ambition to escape the dreary poverty that entraps her family.
Jean Lévesque, a young machinist, flirts with Florentine while she is working. She, in turn, is captivated by his slick, confident appearance. Although Florentine dislikes Jean’s arrogance and offhand manner, she agrees to meet him at the cinema. Later, at his lodgings in the district’s bleak warehouse area, Jean analyzes the contradictory nature of his attraction to Florentine’s fragile prettiness and vulnerability. After concluding that his drive for success leaves him no time to waste on an affair, Jean avoids his date with Florentine.
Jean visits The Two Records, a neighborhood snack bar. There, he overhears a heated discussion between the store owner and Azarius Lacasse, Florentine’s father, concerning the war. Azarius argues for the defense of countries victimized by war, such as Poland. Other bar patrons protest, saying that as French Canadians, they will resist fighting in an “English” conflict. Jean notes the similarities between Azarius and his daughter Florentine.
Emmanuel Létourneau, a soldier, stops by Ma Philbert’s restaurant in St. Henri. A former inhabitant of the slum, he is now well educated, gainfully employed, and living in a better neighborhood. He encounters three former school chums—Alphonse, Boisvert, and Pitou—who are unemployed, bored, and disillusioned. They appear surprised and resentful that Emmanuel had joined the military, so Emmanuel gives idealistic reasons for fighting in a war that he believes will change the world, especially its greedy social systems Feeling despondent, Emmanuel leaves and encounters Jean, his close friend. They discuss women, and Jean invites him to meet Florentine.
In her bleak house, Rose-Anna Lacasse worries about her family’s poverty and awaits her husband and two oldest children. Son Eugene comes home wearing an army uniform. He explains to his horrified mother that he had enlisted to be usefully employed, and not for the army pay. Later, Rose-Anna berates her husband for his procrastination in finding the family a cheaper rental home; they face eviction in May. Her house-hunting is described as an annual spring ritual that is shared by many women in the slum.
Jean reconsiders his relationship with Florentine and asks her to dinner. They dine at a classy restaurant, although she remains angry because he missed their first date. Embarrassed by Florentine’s gauche behavior at dinner, Jean decides against dating her again. Later in the evening, when he embraces her, she becomes convinced that he has fallen for her. Days later, Jean introduces Emmanuel to Florentine at her job. Confused by Jean’s indifference, Florentine attempts to make him jealous by flirting with Emmanuel, who is attracted to her. Jean feels confident that he has dumped Florentine on his best friend. Emmanuel invites everyone to a party at his house. At the party, Florentine is impressed by the middle-class prosperity of the Létourneaus. Still, she is distraught by Jean’s absence. She nonetheless dances and flirts with Emmanuel, who is enamored of her.
Azarius takes his family to visit his wife’s childhood home in Saint-Denis-de-Richelieu, a rural area outside Montreal. Initially, Rose-Anna is overjoyed, but she becomes despondent when she compares her own sickly children to their robust country cousins. Above all, her mother’s negative, critical attitude makes her feel inadequate and discouraged. On their way home, Azarius gets into an accident with the truck he borrowed from his employer. He consequently loses his job. Rose-Anna’s dreams of recovering the past collapse, and the family’s fortunes further decline. The youngest son, Daniel, is soon hospitalized with leukemia, and Eugene reneges on his promise to help the family with his army pay.
While the family is away, Florentine invites Jean to dinner. To thwart her expectations of romance and marriage with him, he overpowers her sexually and then disappears from her life. When she realizes she is pregnant and that he has abandoned her, her dreams for a better future vanish. After Rose-Anna discovers her daughter’s pregnancy, Florentine leaves home to stay with her friend Marguerite. Florentine decides to save her reputation and secure her economic future by accepting Emmanuel’s courtship. Confronted by Florentine’s disgrace and the family’s eviction and removal into dreadful lodgings, Rose-Anna’s hopes for her family hit rock bottom.
Emmanuel returns home on furlough and looks for his friends. After visiting The Two Records, he discovers that his old chums have been adversely affected by the war. He ponders their fates and his own future, and he angrily blames the unjust social system for blighting the lives of French Canadians. Burdened by despondency and solitude, he decides to find Florentine. After meeting her at Easter Sunday Mass, he takes her out for dinner and dancing. He further pursues his courtship of her, leading Florentine to push him to propose marriage. He does, and the two are married.
Florentine’s marriage to Emmanuel saves her from the shame of unwed motherhood, but it does not mend the tensions between herself and her mother; they part from each other unreconciled. Little Daniel is sustained by care and attention from his English nurse, Jenny. However, he soon dies, surrounded by his toys but not his family. Florentine’s younger sister, Yvonne, announces her intention to become a nun. The family’s disintegration seems complete when Azarius joins the army, presumably to earn an income; actually, he joins to avoid confronting his failures as a provider. The birth of her newest baby brings Rose-Anna some measure of comfort and hope.
A mixed mood of optimism and despair prevails, as Emmanuel and other soldiers leave for war from Montreal’s train station. Florentine, preoccupied by materialistic plans for the future, appears to be unaffected by her husband’s departure. Emmanuel is depressed by the false bravado of the mob around him and by the ironic thought of “salvation through war,” pondering the future of his world. Nonetheless, his hopes for humankind rebound when, out of the crowd, an old woman—a stranger—gestures to him that someday humanity’s conflicts will end.
Bibliography
Clemente, Linda, and Bill Clemente. Gabrielle Roy: Creation and Memory. Toronto, Ont.: ECW Press, 1997. This biographical account focuses on three crucial eras in Roy’s early life, when she was honing her craft as a writer. Provides an especially insightful account of the genesis and publication of The Tin Flute, including the effects of the work’s success on Roy’s career and personal life.
Coleman, Patrick. The Limits of Sympathy: Gabrielle Roy’s “The Tin Flute.” Toronto, Ont.: ECW Press, 1993. An extensive and informed study of the novel. Thoroughly analyzes the work’s narrative techniques, themes, and methods of character portrayal.
Everett, Jane, ed. In Translation: The Gabrielle Roy-Joyce Marshall Correspondence. Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 2005. A compilation of the extensive correspondence between the author and her English translator. Of special focus are the musings on the art of translation and the problems involved in rendering French prose into English.
Hess, M. G. Gabrielle Roy. Boston: Twayne, 1984. A useful survey volume in the Twayne World Authors series, examining all of Roy’s writings. Includes brief commentary and analysis of each of her works.
Knoller, Eva-Marie, ed. Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Helpful, timely essays covering a range of topics, with especially pertinent chapters on Francophone writing and Canadian fiction.
Ricard, François. Gabrielle Roy: A Life. Translated by Patricia Claxton. Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart, 1996. This penetrating and eloquent portrait of Roy was originally published in French in 1975. Written by an award-winning biographer, it remains the definitive account of Roy’s life.
Shek, Ben-Zion. Social Realism in the French-Canadian Novel. Montreal: Harvest House, 1977. Shek’s chapter on The Tin Flute examines the novel in relationship to its ideological and socioeconomic context. The critique focuses on the work’s narrative technique and emphasizes such themes as social conflict and the search for identity.
Smart, Patricia. “When the Voices of Resistance Become Political: The Tin Flute or Realism in the Feminine.” In Writing in the Father’s House: The Emergence of the Feminine in the Quebec Literary Tradition. Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 1991. Originally published in French in 1988. Smart’s analysis of The Tin Flute is presented from a feminist perspective. Underscores the novel’s innovative role in bringing to the forefront the political message of women’s writing in Quebec.