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The purpose of this thesis is to establish the importance of Panteleymon Romanov in Soviet literature. Even though Romanov began writing many years before the Revolution, he became known as an author only after the Revolution when he published "Childhood", his first work, in 1920. Little success attended this effort. However, like any true artist he was not interested in writing merely to gain fame, but more to express his philosophy of life. He adopted the realistic style of the classical writers of the 19th Century and applied it to the conditions created by the Revolution and post-Revolutionary period. Thus he mirrored the life around him. At the time of War-Communism, 1917-1921, when most of the writers were engaged in political and internal struggle to define the path that the new literature was to take, Romanov wrote several volumes of humorous short stories on how the peasants greeted the political changes. By rewriting these humorous stories in a serious vein, he incorporated them into his greatest work under the title "Rus". His stories about the younger members of society and their attitudes toward love were also very popular. In these stories on love Romanov described the new attitude towards sex relationships between young people, the position of the unmarried mother, and the new family life without the sacrament of the church. His best stories on this theme are: "Without Cherry Blossom", "The Big Family", "The Right to Love" and the novel "The New Commandment". These were all widely read and discussed among the Komsomols and npn-Komsomols alike. Towards the end of the N.E.P. period, Romanov became more interested in the social conduct of the old intelligentsia as applied to its relationship with the new government. One of his best known stories of this period is "The Right to Live" which deals with a non-Party writer who tried unsuccessfully to conform to the demands of the Party. Romanov has developed this theme further in his novel "Comrade Kislyakov". In these two novels, Romanov expressed his regret that intellectuals did not have heroic qualities, energy, and will power to fight for their political and human rights. Romanov has often been regarded as a controversial writer both by the Soviet and the emigreé critics. The latter accused Romanov of slandering the morals of the old intelligentsia, while most of the former accused him of being blind to the growth of the Soviet masses because he had not accepted the Revolution. In studying literary life in the first decade of the Soviet government, one can say that Romanov and his works occupied a singular position of importance in Soviet literature. Romanov's style being easy and old-fashioned appealed to the masses. The humorous incidents in his stories, unlike those of Zoshchenko or O'Henry, follow one another continuously. Romanov also differs from Zoshchenko in the description of his heroes. Whereas Zoshchenko emphasises the individual characters, Romanov, on the contrary, develops the importance of the people, as a whole. He can truly be regarded as a popular sociological writer. After the Revolution, Romanov took the position of an independent creative writer and he maintained it as such until 1936. He insisted on his freedom to write what his conscience dictated and he never changed his position. For this reason a conflict between himself and the Soviet government was inevitable. After the confiscation of his work, "Comrade Kislyakov" in 1930, the doors to the publishing houses were closed for Romanov. However, through the intervention of Bukharin, the ban was lifted in 1936 when some of his short sketches about his excursion to the Molotov automobile factory in Nizhni-Novgorod were published. When Romanov died in 1938 of heart disease, there was no obituary notice from the Writers1 Union. Thus a bright star faded from the galaxy of Soviet literature, without any literary astronomer noticing it. Even today none of his works is published in the U.S.S.R. and he is not counted among those who have made a worthy contribution to Soviet letters. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate

The aim of this work is to study a few of the aspects of Maurice Bedel's humanism and to examine his treatment of humour. It is an incontestable fact that the understanding of foreign cultures is an integral part of humanism. The first chapter deals with Norway in a study of Jérome 60° Latitude Nord, (prix Goncourt 1927) and with Greece in Le Laurier d'Apollon. The conclusion gives a summary of the different works which also reveal the exotic aspect of the humanism and humour of Maurice Bedel. In spite of his love of travel and adventure, Maurice Bedel is far from being a "déraciné." In order to inspire in the young a love of the land, he wrote Géographie de mille hectares, a short work, but which is the very portrayal of France in miniature. This book was followed a few years later by Histoire de mille hectares, which is not an account of wars and peace treaties, but rather the history of man's efforts to achieve a better way of life and the victories won in the battle for human dignity. The return to the land, the reinstatement of the profession of farming and craftsmanship, the country dialect and the wit of the Tourangeaux, is the subject matter of chapter two. The conclusion makes one think of the naturalism of Barrès and offers a critical appreciation of the writers of the "terroir." Maurice Bedel's criticism might well have been applied to himself. During a long stay in Africa, Maurice Bedel became indignant at the treatment of the natives by the "coloniaux." His impressions were collected in a diary, Tropiques Noirs, and his observations are not lacking in wit. The author was sensitive to the difficulties of the Métis, to their sufferings and vexations. In Le Mariage des couleurs, an anti-racist novel which is as much a study of African mores as a justification of the "terroir," Maurice Bedel analysed the drama of the "sang-mélé" of the two hemispheres. Chapter three is therefore devoted to the anti-racist aspect of Bedel's humanism. This chapter concludes with the author's assertion that there is no such thing as a race but merely adaptations of man to his environment. In chapter four it is proven that it is no longer possible for the humanist of the 20th century to remain indifferent to the influence of politics. Bedel does not neglect certain political events of his time which, constitute a threat to the freedom of the individual. His interview with Hitler in Nazi Germany and with Mussolini in Fascist Italy, made him fear for the fate of the European democracies and the future of civilisation. Bedel treats this subject with particular humour. The chapter concludes by contrasting democratic liberties with the totalitarian states and by criticising the weaknesses of the Third Republic and the indifference of the French towards politics. The last chapter of this thesis shows how Bedel presents the problem of women in his usual witty manner. By portraying the typical young woman of 1930, he forecasts the position in society of women today. At the international conferences in Geneva, the lecturer Henri Lefebvre demonstrated the limitations of Greco-Latin humanism which had ignored the role of women or had at best treated them as a mythical or abstract presence. Bedel, in his capacity as a humanist, realized that modern society can no longer afford to ignore the importance of women in society. His interest is based on his concern for justice towards all humanity. This study concludes with an examination of the essential characteristics of Bedel's humanism. His philosophical essay Le Destin de la personne humaine, is a plea for the individual. He warns mankind of the dangers of collectivism. Nevertheless the author believes that optimism and reason will win out. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the five main novels of Georgii Nikiforov, "Beside the Street Lamp", (1927), "The Woman", (1929), "Into the Wind", (1930), "Unity", (1933), "The Mastercraftsmen", (1936). They will be discussed separately and comparatively, pointing out character, situation, and political developments. The unifying element throughout Nikiforov's works is his development of the old professional worker as compared with the psychological development of various contemporary (1920-1935) Soviet Bureaucrats. Nikiforov's attacks upon the role of the Communist Party is counterbalanced by his personal objectivity in presenting a vivid unfalsified representation of Soviet life during this time. The Introduction is an elaboration of the Abstract and presents the overall outline of the paper. At the same time describing Nikiforov's personal life and the internal influences that were beneficial or a hindrance, as' the case may be, in formulating Nikiforov's realism through complete disillusionment in the new state. Chapter I, "Beside the Street Lamp", describes the corrupt Soviet bureaucracy that existed during the 1920s and early 1930s. Through the bureaucrats Nikiforov is able to launch a direct attack upon the Party. He also presents a new type of individual. In the midst of the building a.new socialist state during the early N.E.P. period, the appearance of Ramzaev, a former member of the nobleman-intelligentsia class is quite startling to any Soviet reader. But Ramzaev's moral regeneration into a "first rate Communist" is constrasted with the degeneration of a Party bureaucrat. Chapter II, "The Woman", presents the role of the women in the Soviet system during the last stages of N.E.P. and into the First Five Year Plan. Nikiforov's "professional labourer type" has now slowly begun evolving and reaches its climax in this novel. The position of Trade Unions and the Party form a sub-theme. In Chapter III, "Into the Wind", Nikiforov discusses the truth concerning collectivization and the kulak question. For this he was taken to task by the Party. He portrayed the peasant question with an alarming amount of truth and did not devote it to the agricultural phase of the First Five Year Plan as did Sholokhov "(Virgin Soil Upturned)", Leonov, and the others. He also presented the "city-village" question concerning itself indirectly with collectivization and industrialization. Nikiforov developed this novel frequently by mere hints,consequently the literary value of it suffered. In contrast to "Into the Wind", Nikiforov wrote "Unity", a hastily poorly written Five Year Plan type novel depicting industrialization through the attempted adaptation of the author into this sphere of the "proletarianization" of the country. But Nikiforov failed because of complete lack of character analyses and the absence of a definite plot. The theme of complete subordination of the individual to Industrialization was the main element throughout. Chapter IV, "The Mastercraftsmen", indirectly deals with the question of Soviet reality and Christian Socialism. Nikiforov develops his professional revolutionaries against the background of the Japanese War and the 190$ Revolution. One of the most significant elements in Nikiforov's writings is his complete and final development of the ideal man, a philosopher on one hand, and the professional labourer on the other. This ideological representation is fully realized in this chapter together with an indirect representation of Stalinist Russia through this philosophical ideology. The last chapter, Chapter V, attempts to trace the line of the old professional worker and his psychology through all of Nikiforov's works. The different character types, the party bureaucrats, the professional labourers, the philosophical individual - all are discussed here. Also, Nikiforov's associations with the Trotskyite faction of the party and his sympathy toward their industrial development programme is mentioned. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate

Abstract of Georges Duhamel et la Civilisation, thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts by-James Alexander Hood. Chapter I, La Fonction sociale de l'écrivain. Duhamel’s conception of the rôle of the author in society; his social, moral and political responsibilities. Chapter II, Le Désintéressement. Deals with Duhamel’s belief in the conflict between industrial and cultural civilization, the former founded on selfishness, the latter on disinterestedness. Chapter III, Le Règne du coeur. An explanation of Duhamel's doctrine for an ideal society, based on brotherly love rather than social coercion. His conception of the moral value of pain and suffering in the development of the individual. Chapter IV, La Crise de la civilisation - La Vie future. Duhamel's belief that the social and industrial mores of the U.S.S.R., and of the U.S.A., reveal the future form of the social institutions of humanity. His criticism of the curtailment of human freedom under the antagonistic political philosophies of both these states. Chapter V, La Crise de la civilisation - Le Phénomène panique. Duhamel's criticism of the uncontrolled extension of bureaucratic interference into all levels of human activity in the modern state, with special reference to France. Chapter VI, Le Rôle de l'élite. The responsibilities of the intellectual élite in contemporary society. Its duties are, negatively, to defend spiritual civilization against the encroachments of industrial civilization, positively, to extend the influence of true culture by educating the masses. Conclusion. The contradictions to be found in Duhamel's thought. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

This essay seeks to explain why Charles Reade's fiction, which was once so popular, is no longer of interest to modern readers. By referring to the available material on the sale of his books, and by considering what reviewers in his own day said about them, an attempt is made to estimate his popularity with contemporary readers. His novels were melodramatic in style and sensational in content, for he exploited the social abuses common in England during the second half of the nineteenth century. Modern critics of the novel believe that Reade failed to turn his material into sound and probable fiction. His plots are weak and his characters poorly drawn. For this reason his books ceased to interest readers as soon as the abuses with which he dealt were corrected. A certain amount of agreement is shown to exist between the opinions of modern students of the novel and those of Reade's more discerning contemporary critics who, throughout his career, urged him to change his method of writing fiction. The shortcomings of his fictive theory are discussed and the inevitability of the eclipse of his fame is set forth in conclusion. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Angus MacInnis was elected Member of Parliament for Vancouver South in 1930 as a representative of the Independent Labour Party and on a socialist platform. During his first session of Parliament, he began a political career that would last twenty-seven years, and also played a prominent role in the development of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. The purpose of this study is to determine the nature of Angus MacInnis' early political career, both in Vancouver and in Ottawa, and to assess his role in the development of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in its formative years from 1932 to 1935. The most important primary source of information is the Angus MacInnis Collection in the Special Collections Division of The University of British Columbia Library. This collection includes MacInnis' private correspondence and his scrapbooks; the records of the C.C.F. and its predecessors in British Columbia; and material of a general nature on the early socialist movement in British Columbia. Other primary sources in Vancouver include the labour press in the period 1915-1935, the daily press, records of Parliamentary debates and relevant government documents. Records of the national Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and several of MacInnis' contemporaries are found in the Public Archives of Canada in Ottawa. Also, associates of Angus MacInnis in the period under study were interviewed. Secondary sources include studies of the period, and biographies of contemporaries. Because this study is only of Angus MacInnis' early political career, the 1935 federal election has been selected as the termination point. This election was the first test at the polls of his Parliamentary efforts, and of his commitment to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. Had he and the C.C.F. failed, all his efforts in the preceding ten years would have been for naught. His personal success and the comparative success of the C.C.F. vindicated his efforts. Angus MacInnis was first and foremost a socialist; not, however, of the doctrinaire, Marxian variety so typical of British Columbia, but rather pragmatic and Fabian in his approach, preferring constitutional to violent means. He was Canadian-born and understood Canadian problems to a much greater extent than did most of the British-born socialists in B. C. For this reason, Angus MacInnis was able to see the need for, and prospects of, a national, broadly based, constitutional, socialist party in Canada. Because of his pragmatism and his faith in constitutional methods, and because of early experience, he was adamantly anti-communist. As a member of Parliament, he showed himself to be conscientious, forthright and quick witted. He stood out in particular as a humanitarian in his defence of the victims of the Depression, especially the unemployed. He also indicated on many occasions his pragmatism and his faith in parliamentary democracy. In spite of these qualities, he was narrow in his interests, concentrating primarily on the failure of capitalism, the ineptitude of the Bennett government, the plight of British Columbia and Vancouver, and the condition of the unemployed. Angus Maclnnis' most lasting contribution in this period was not made in Parliament but rather in the C.C.F. To a great extent, it was because of his efforts that there was a strong socialist party in British Columbia when the C.C.F. began. His influence did much to bring the Socialist Party of Canada into the C.C.F., and to merge the two affiliates in the British Columbia C.C.F. into one party. As a political realist, he saw the need for a strong party structure, and did much to bring about such a development in B. C. and Ontario. It was for this reason that he attempted to forestall any compromise on the C.C.F.'s anti-communism, because he knew that the communists would destroy the Federation. As a socialist, he saw the need for the B. C. socialists in the national federation, and did much, by his own efforts and by bringing the B. C. socialists into the C.C.F., to ensure that the C.C.F. retained its socialist goals. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

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Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.