In Susanna Moodie’s introduction to “Roughing It In The Bush” she talks of the hard life that some of the first colonial population of Canada had and how in forty years, at least the eastern part of Canada transformed into a place somewhat more like Europe in that cities were built, more resources were available, and European colonial culture had become highly dominant. She describes Canada in many different ways and alludes to Canada as a second Garden of Eden, an empty/wasted land, the noble but vanishing Indian, and the magical map. Below are examples of those allusions, minus he “Magical Map” allusion, which I could not find.
Garden of Eden:
Mudi speaks of the Canada that she lives in as somewhat of an untapped second Garden of Eden, and she most likely understands what she is writing, as she writes about churches in Canada at on page seven (Moodie, 7). She also alludes to advertisements of the riches to be made in Canada on the same page, even if originally, no one would have chosen to immigrate to Canada, according to her.
A Gift from God:
She also alludes to Canada being a gift from God in the poem on page twenty-five. It reads, ” Canada, the blest—the free! (Moodie, 25)”
Wastland/Empty:
There is however a negative side to her explanation in that she warns her readers who are possibly prospective immigrants that if families move to Canada and decide to live in the middle of the woods, they will live in a vast nothingness. Moodie describes, “remote and unfavorable localities, far from churches, schools, and markets,” early in her introduction on page seven (Moody, 7.)
Noble, Vanishing Indian:
The noble and vanishing Indian is only written about briefly on page fourteen. The “Indians” are spoken about in the past tense and are described as the mutual enemy of colonials (Moodie, 14).
Magical Map:
I reread again and again to find an allusion to the “magical map” in Moodie’s introduction, but I could not find it.
Susanna Moodie seems fairly aware of a few of her allusions, certainly the allusions that relate to Christianity. I her poem Canada, she creates the picture of a beautiful free new beginning for even the lowest of men, and meanwhile states that such a land is blessed (Moodie 25.) Her allusion to the noble vanishing Indian and the empty wasteland, I do not think that she was aware of. The empty wasteland allusion is made amidst cultural warnings of lack of what she would call “civilization.” Meanwhile the discussion of “The Noble Indian is so quickly mentioned in passing, that it was as if she was helping in vanishing “The Indian” from Canada’s History.
The stories that Moodie re-erects through Thomas King’s work in dead-dog cafe are ones of colonialism and the same optimism that she brings to her introduction of “Roughing It In The Bush.” She says things like, “We’re on an adventure,” which is well suited for her role in the story considering that she is characterized as a tourist (King, 158).
Works cited:
King, Thomas. Green Grass, Running Water. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print.