Marguerite de La Rocque

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Marguerite de La Rocque de Roberval (

André Thévet
. Her story has been retold many times since 1560.

Early life

Marguerite de La Rocque's place and date of birth are unknown, but records attest to her declaration of fealty and homage in 1536 for her lands in Périgord and Languedoc.[1] She was co-seigneuress of Pontpoint, with relative Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval, a nobleman privateer favoured by Francis I of France.[1] (The exact relationship remains unclear. André Thevet claimed Roberval was her uncle,[2] while François de Belleforest indicated they were brother and sister.[3] Historian Elizabeth Boyer suggests they were in fact cousins.[3])

Voyage and marooning

Gulf of Saint Lawrence

The Isle of Demons is reputedly off the east coast of Quebec, in an area known as the Lower North Shore. Local folklore indicates that the Island is now known as Harrington Harbour. This is detailed in the work of Elizabeth Boyer.

In 1541 Roberval was made

Calvinist morals, it is likely he was also driven by financial greed, since his debts were high, and Marguerite's death would be to his benefit.[4] Also marooned were Marguerite's lover, and her maidservant Damienne.[1]
In the Heptaméron, the Queen of Navarre claims the lover was set down first, with Marguerite opting to join him; Thevet claims the young man swam to join Marguerite.

Marguerite's lover is intentionally unidentified in early histories; while presented in the Queen of Navarre's work as an unskilled labourer, this was, in part, to hide his identity, preserving the reputation of his aristocratic family.[5]

While it is unlikely she was pregnant when first abandoned, Marguerite gave birth to a child while on the island.[6] The baby died, as did the young man and the maidservant.[1] It is possible the baby died due to insufficient milk, Marguerite's diet being poor.[6] Marguerite survived by hunting wild animals, and was rescued by Basque fishermen some years later.[7]

The "Island of Demons" (or spirits) is part of a group later known as the Isles de la Demoiselle, presumably after her (French demoiselle means "young lady").

Later life

Returning to France after her rescue, Marguerite achieved some celebrity when her story became known. She became a schoolmistress, and settled in Nontron,[8] living in Chateau de La Mothe. There is no record of any action or charges brought by her against Roberval.[8] Her death date and place is unrecorded. (Roberval died in 1560.)

Literary representations

Marguerite's story was first recorded by

André Thévet's Cosmographie (1575). The Queen of Navarre's account of Marguerite's adventures was a romantic tale, based on information provided by "Captain Roberval"; Thevet, who claimed he was told the story by the cast-away herself, offered more precise details, describing the journey, the colonists on board the ships, and the location of the Île des Démons.[1] Text comparisons show that Thevet was, at least, familiar with the Queen's and de Belleforest's earlier accounts.[2]

In addition to her early chroniclers, Marguerite de la Rocque's story has provided inspiration for several modern writers. One of the first was Irish-born, Montreal-based

verse play for CBC Radio entitled The Island of Demons.[10]

In 1975, historian

Isabel Mackay). Also in 2008, Annamarie Beckel wrote Silence of Stone (Breakwater Books), a novel which switches between Marguerite on the island and Marguerite as headmistress. In 2016, Theatre Passe Muraille produced a play called Elle (She), an adaptation by Severn Thompson of Glover's novel.[17]

In popular media

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Robert la Roque de Roquebrune. "La Roque, Marguerite de". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  2. ^ a b Schlessinger & Stabler, p. xxiii
  3. ^ a b Leslie & Seagrave, p. 544
  4. ^ Leslie & Seagrave, p. 124
  5. ^ Leslie & Seagrave, pp. 123–124
  6. ^ a b Leslie & Seagrave, p. 545
  7. ^ James Marsh. "La Rocque, Marguerite de". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Association. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  8. ^ a b Leslie & Seagrave, p. 132
  9. ^ Poets of Ireland, cited by DWS Ryan in the introduction to the 1995 republication of The Legend of Marguerite.
  10. ^ Woodcock, George (1977). "The Island of Demons". in Two Plays. Talonbooks. Archived from the original on 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2012-12-14.
  11. ISBN 0-445-08551-7
    .
  12. ISBN 978-0-595-09650-3
  13. ISBN 0-618-11450-5
  14. ISBN 0-86492-315-5
  15. ^ Henderson, Bob (Spring 2005). "Marooned: The Perils of Marguerite". Kanawa. Paddle Canada. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  16. ^ "Robert Chafe". Doollee Playwright's Database. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  17. ^ "In Conversation with Severn Thompson, playwright and performer of ELLE, on stage now at TPM". inthegreenroom. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  18. ^ Creepy Canada, 3.2 The Grave of Edgar Allan Poe
  19. ^ [1]
  20. ^ [2]

References

Further reading

External links
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