A ways north of Moodie’s backyard.
The book Roughing It In The Bush details firsthand the English-born author Susanna Moodie’s experience as an emigrant to Canada in the 1830s. During this time, newcomers to Canada faced incredible hardships, from starvation and sickness on the Atlantic crossing to extreme winter conditions and lack of basic necessities once established on land. Perhaps most striking to Moodie, though, was the difference between the established social structure of England, from where she emigrated, and the looser, less defined, and considerably more individualistic organization present in the Canadian backwoods. Moodie perceives Canada and her role there partly through the lens of her English societal background, but also through the lens of Christianity. In fact, the complexity of her impressions of Canada and new Canadians comes from the contradictions between her religious certainty of purpose and values in settling a “wild land” (Moodie np) and her many observations of those who stray from it. Consider her Introduction to Roughing It for a moment: she contrasts the promises made by the earthly messengers of Canada’s many virtues, “its salubrious climate, its fertile soil, commercial advantages, great water privileges, its proximity to the mother country, and last, not least, its almost total exemption from taxation” (Moodie np) with the harsh reality of settler life that only the “souls and bodies of men… [for whom] wholesome labour from infancy has made strong, the nerves which have become iron by patient endurance, by exposure to weather, coarse fare, and rude shelter” (Moodie np) can really handle. She also emphasizes the need for honesty, care, and genuine piety for successful society-building in the new country. These are the individuals whom, to Moodie, measure up to her moral and physical standards for successful Canadian settlers.
Given that Moodie brings up two main qualifications of a good Canadian almost immediately in the introductory passage of her Canadian story, one might wonder how she feels the original First Nations inhabitants measure up to these standards of strength and piety. Well, the suspense is kept up until much later in the book on this front. Not until Chapter 15 are we introduced to the First Nations friends and trading partners of Moodie and her family. Speaking of the local Mississauga First Nation, Moodie writes
“A dry cedar-swamp, not far from the house, by the lake shore, had been their usual place of encampment for many years. The whole block of land was almost entirely covered with maple trees, and had originally been an Indian sugar-bush. Although the favourite spot had now passed into the hands of strangers, they still frequented the place, to make canoes and baskets, to fish and shoot, and occasionally to follow their old occupation.”
The way Moodie discusses her First Nations neighbours here as well as later in the chapter suggests that she considered them part of the majestic Canadian landscape, rather than an active force in the political and civil discourse of the time. To her, First Nations as a collective are not considered agents in the shaping of Canada, although they do serve as role models for truthful and upright conduct, as when she extolls their respectful use of language, observance of local manners, avoidance of trickery, and care for their elders in various summary paragraphs describing the characteristics of the “genuine” Indian (Moodie np). From an outside perspective, some of her interactions with First Nations people seem to show that they themselves are not completely content to remain part of a landscape viewed by an ever-increasing flow of new emigrants. Their interest in Mr. Moodie’s map of the area borders on feverish, for example, as they utter “strange, uncouth exclamations of surprise” (Moodie np) and recognize its immense power in the hands of the emigrants. The fact it is so valuable to the Moodies themselves that they cannot relinquish it for any price must have only added to its power. Moodie’s First Nations friend John also has an interest in gaining literacy in his native language, although frustrated by “the difficulty he found in understanding the books written in Indian for [First Nations people’s own] use” (Moodie np). The tension between Moodie’s varied, multifaceted lived experiences with First Nations people and her rather conventional and flat summary statements of their attitudes and behaviour is fascinating and underscores the way our internal stories shape our worldview.
Works Cited
Moodie, Susanna. Roughing it in the Bush. Project Gutenburg, 18 January 2004. Web. 14 February 2014.
“Smoke Signal: Mississauga First Nation News”. Mississauga First Nation. Web. 14 February 2014.
Hi Keely,
I had read another settler memoir in another course I took. I can’t remember what it was called or who the author was (incredibly inconvenient at the moment) but I was surprised by how similar that one was to this book by Susanna Moodie. The themes and observations were very similar. It was also interesting how the First Nations people were noticeably absent from much of the story. They were merely given glancing descriptions, and like you said, less as “agents” in the shaping of Canada but more as novelties. It doesn’t seem like the settlers even acknowledged the First Nations people as having “settled” the land before European settlers arrived. There’s lots of talk about how harsh a landscape Canada can be – particularly in the winter – but little acknowledgement of how the First Nations have mastered it.
Moodie’s description of “savages and uncivilised life” is intended to be complimentary for the most part (Moodie 10). She insists that “the Indian is one of Nature’s gentlemen.” She finds more at fault with “the vicious, uneducated barbarians who form the surplus of over-populous European countries.” Although Moodie’s comparison of First Nations “savages” with the European lower-class “savages” is meant to be complimentary to the First Nations it is, of course, embedded in ethnocentrism, misunderstanding, and racism. Defining “the Indian [as] one of Nature’s gentlemen” sets First Nations outside of the human realm and equates them with, as you said so well, “part of the majestic Canadian landscape.” She also uses First Nations as a barometer for civilization, and they are clearly placed on the “uncivilized” end of the scale. Much of the ethnocentrism is revealed through Moodie’s choice of words. She is “eager…to put [her] foot upon the soil of the new world for the first time” (emphasis mine).
I would argue that Moodie’s lens of English societal background and Christianity are one and the same. Christianity was pretty widely adopted as part of British life. Her expectations and judgements are, I think, more due to her class conceptions. She is disdainful of “uneducated” and presumably lower class Europeans.
Thanks for your thoughts! I had a hard time getting through all of Moodie’s self-congratulatory talk. Good for you for cutting through it so astutely.
Thanks for your comments, @laurendonnelly!
Re-reading the quote from Moodie that you brought up about First Nations people (or men, I suppose) being “Nature’s gentlemen” got me wondering in more detail about what exactly she meant by that statement. I think part of it relates to what we discussed about First Nations people being static figures on the imposing Canadian landscape, but I’m also interested in understanding what Moodie means by calling them “gentlemen,” a term that to me connotes civilization, an appreciation for manners and appearances, and adherence to a specific moral code. All this is very different from Moodie’s impressions of Nature, at least in the case of Canadian nature, which she characterizes as quite wild and untamed.
What can she mean by this contradiction? She does have some criticisms of her First Nations friends, mainly that they don’t keep things clean enough for her taste, but overall her portrait of First Nations people is a positive one. I am now a little puzzled by this but will try and think it through and hopefully add to my thoughts.