Two Solitudes

Two Solitudes is an award-winning novel by Canadian author Hugh MacLennan, published in 1945. The family saga explores infighting between the French- and English-Canadian sides of the Tallard family. At the same time, the narrative underscores the larger division between these historically polar opposites. Generally praised for addressing the animosity between French and English Canadians so accurately, Two Solitudes won a Governor General’s Award for Fiction. MacLennan was English Canadian (he died in 1990), though the narrative is written largely from a French-Canadian perspective. Two Solitudes explores themes of family, tragedy, hardship, nationality, loyalty, and love.

Two Solitudes takes place largely in two locales: the Quebec parish Saint-Marc-des-Érables and Montreal. The timeframe, particularly when the story shifts to Montreal, is set after WWI and continues up to the beginning of WWII. Athanase Tallard, a member of Parliament in Ottawa who owns a large amount of land in Saint-Marc, appeases English-Canadian businesses.

One example of the conflict at the heart of the narrative appears in the differences between Athanase’s two sons. Marius Tallard is his teenage son, born from his first marriage to a French Catholic. A French nationalist, Marius despises English Canadians and is trying his best not to be conscripted. Athanase’s second son, seven-year-old Paul, comes from Athanase’s second marriage to an Irish Protestant.



Adding fuel to the already tense plot is the fact that, not only has an Englishman called a portion of Athanase’s land his own, the English see the land in Saint-Marc as the perfect place to erect a factory. The Quebecois, however, don’t want an English factory on their land. A factory will disrupt their small, simple village life, and all the money will go to the English, while the French Canadians will be forced into menial labor.

The latter half of the book focuses on a grown-up Paul and his relationship with an English Canadian. Specifically, Paul is romantically involved with the granddaughter of John Yardley, the English landowner in Saint-Marc. Despite their love, both English and French Canadians oppose the relationship. Adding insult to injury, the English Canadian side feels that, since Paul has lost his job due to The Great Depression, Paul will mooch off of them. More than anything, neither side wants the couple to be married.

Some readers and critics have taken issue with the use of derogatory terms in the narrative. John Yardley, for instance, uses the n-word freely. Others point out that, though the issue is problematic from a contemporary point of view, the word’s usage is probably—though unfortunately—accurate for the time period. Also, the plight of Canada’s indigenous groups never comes up in the novel. Despite these potential grievances, most see Two Solitudes as an accurate, well-needed exploration of Canada’s French-English conflict. Another major credit for MacLennan is the fact that, with this work, he placed Canadian writers within the larger scene inhabited by American and British authors.