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Present at the Creation: John Richardson and Souwesto

1993; University of Toronto Press; Volume: 28; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3138/jcs.28.3.75

1911-0251

Dennis Duffy,

Poetry Analysis and Criticism

Westbrook the Outlaw (1851), Richardson’s last and, for a century, lost novel stands at Souwesto’s literary beginnings. Demonizing a local figure, reshaping him to suit the ideology of the United States audience he sought after failing to find one in Canada, the novelist still could not discard his own origins and history enough to make his villain fit the new mold. Richardson’s shaping of local material places Westbrook in a new context, giving us a useful point from which to explore subsequent elements in the literature of Souwesto. Two tendencies emerge and can be witnessed to this day: the transmutation of history into legend and folklore, and the avoidance of historical incidents that might point to the wreckage caused by the collisions of class, race and power.