Louisbourg Portraits

¶ … narratives have a tendency to either be dull or inaccurate, in the case of Christopher Moore's Louisbourg Portraits, neither are the cases. Moore has set a new standard for both his scholarly work on Louisbourg's history as well as created a new popular history of this enigmatic 19th century garrison town. In his book, Moore uses a diorama of different characters to elucidate life within Louisbourg, and there characters bring the garrison town to life. Moore's accomplishment is not to be taken lightly; he has pieced together the lives of these individuals through diligent research and a carefully crafted imagination. The below review will look at Louisbourg's enduring history and establish a tangible connection of what life was like within Louisbourg. Although the diversity of characters within this book, from an accused thief, a married Entrepreneur, a fisherman, a sea captain and finally a solider, seem to approach the social context of Louisbourg through different perspectives, they are all intertwined by the values of their times, that of the will towards survival, exploration and individualism.

As Moore explains in his introduction, "these people were not simply ourselves in eighteenth century dress...They responded from an outlook fundamentally different from our own, one that demands to be understood within the context of their times" (p. viii). Moore plays on this theme with his first character of the book, Louis Davory. Davory is an accused thief who has become imprisoned awaiting his trial and eminent hanging. Moore carefully introduces Davory without his own moral indictment or support; rather he is portrayed as a holistic individual. Davory steals because he has little craft in anything else, within the life of Louisbourg where social rank starts from the military on down, individuals at the bottom of society have little opportunity to advance in life. Davory is a reflection of the persistence of survival that characterizes colonial life. Without tangible abilities to earn a living Davory's primary objective is to survive, and stealing became his craft. In his depictions of life within Louisbourg it is clear that those at the bottom rungs of society are base and impoverished. Colonial Louisbourg, despite being the quasi-capital of the French establishment within North America, still was considerably underdeveloped, with little law and order. Davory is almost accepting of his fate, but his consistent will to escape exemplifies in part the colonial mindset of life living within the edge of existence. Louisbourg itself only had a population of 3000 within the context of Moore's novel; however the colonial town has a much larger presence than its population would suggest, primarily because this community served as the provincial capital of French settlements. Davory's own part within this story is his characterization of the subclass within Louisbourg; Moore's portrayal leaves the audience sympathetic to his position. When Davory ultimately sales away to freedom, we are left with the tenacity of spirit and individualism that he exhibits. More than anything else, Davory's story perpetuates the theme of hardship and survival within Louisbourg. The rudimentary system of courts displayed through his trial process, and the lackasidaiscal method of his escape become emblematic of how rough and unstructured migrant life was within this era.

These same themes can be seen within the portrait of Marie-Louise Cruchon. In this story, Marie, at the tender age of 13 is to be married to an entrepreneur. The two couples strive for a living within this new world, the husband an ambitious young tradesman, while his wife attempts to adapt to both marriage and their new livelihood. The theme of individualism and survival are once again strong within the characterization of the Cruchons. This is evident in several factors of the Cruchon's lifestyle and their experience within Louisbourg. For Marie, there is a consistent struggle towards upward social mobility. This struggle is a reflection of her desire to be both a good wife at such a tender age and to advance her husband's station. At the same time, her husband, a young and ambitious tradesman is attempting to validate himself through business success. Their struggle within the colonial society is a reflection of the struggle for survival and upwards social mobility. The defiance of their character to conventional norms and their driving ambition are both representative of the individualism that is evident in this society.

For Charles Renaut, the struggle of being a fisherman is evident in his letter. Moore carefully portrays Renaut's life as a reflection of the both the classicism within colonial society as well as the holistic portrayal of the fisherman's lifestyle. Renaut feels himself caught between the middle as he fears to leave Louisbourg because of its fertile fishing grounds at the mouth of the Lawrence. At the same time though his loneliness the driving force behind his inability to take a position within the garrison city despite the importance of his trade all harkens to his individualism. The importance of Renaut's character is that it examines a completely different aspect of the Louisbourg society, rather than observing the actual actions of the townspeople, Renaut is caught in between. Despite this his ambitions and constant desires reflects the overall colonial will and the strong belief they have in themselves in order to survive within the tumultuous period.

For Jean Lelarge, Louisbourg is considerably different; this is because his position as a sea captain affords him prestige among this community. Lelarge's social position is a reflection of his professional merit; however Moore's purpose in this character is to reveal the moral conflict that exists within this colonial environment. Lelarge in order to maintain and advance his economic position must transport slaves as well as other trades that he finds morally unfulfilling, however he is afraid to quit because it would ill-afford his current position within the Louisbourg society. Moore characterizes Lelarge as a conflict unlike the above perspectives in that he does not attempt to find the battle between physical and emotional survival, but rather focuses on moral survival. The triumph of Lelarge reflects the above themes.