Closely linked to the notion of God, spirituality dominates throughout Gabrielle Roy's writings. The characters speculate about the meaning of life and death, about good and evil. Of all Roy's writings, it is undoubtedly in Alexandre Chenevert that these searching questions are most expressly depicted. / In this thesis, we will study the manner in which the romantic background of Alexandre Chenevert reflects the religious experience of post-war French Canadians. Under the guise of distorted images, the novel does, in fact, hide an abundant network of themes referring to the religious context of the 1940's-1950's. This period was marked by challenging the ecclesiastical authority. The study of Alexandre Chenevert, a genuine sociological document, will allow us to understand the role religion played in the evolution of the French Canadian society.

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Tableau d’honneur de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales, 2013-2014. / Ce mémoire présente un recueil de nouvelles traversé par une succession de moments de clarté et d’ombre caractéristiques de la notion de deuil. La réflexion subséquente à ce recueil s’inspire de la vision de la création littéraire de Gabrielle Roy. L’essence de cette «grammaire» de la création est vue comme un ensemble de quatre conditions nécessaires à l’émergence d’une œuvre littéraire. Au moment d'entreprendre l'écriture, il ne faut pas prendre conscience des intentions qui nous habitent, demeurer disponible pour que la grâce de l’inspiration nous permette d’accéder au trésor d’images logé dans notre inconscient, prêt à rejaillir et à être ordonné par le fruit du travail en une œuvre de «vivante vérité» où, à la suite de Gabrielle Roy, il est possible d’atteindre «cette vie mystérieuse que des mots pourtant pareils à ceux de tous les jours parviennent parfois à capter à cause de leur assemblage comme tout neuf».

Gabrielle Roy's novels are filled with images of childhood and aging, of family, of rural and urban French-Canadian settings, and of Roy's experiences as a young, impressionable teacher. The generation gaps present themselves in many human relationships and thread themselves throughout Roy's works. For this thesis, the generation gaps will be studied in three important relationships. Part One presents largely the relationships within the microcosm of the family. It explores the gap between mothers and daughters. La Rue Deschambault, La Route d'Altamont, and Bonheur d'Occasion are included. The relationship between the father and child in La Rue Deschambault, Bonheur d'Occasion, and Alexandre Chenevert will then be explored. Important elements of these relationships are: the circle of life, the inevitable resemblances between parent and child, and their reversal of roles as the parent ages. Part Two focuses on bridging the gap between teacher and student in Gabrielle Roy's works. This relationship is studied extensively in both La Petite Poule d'Eau and Ces Enfants de Ma Vie. The teachers in Roy's works represent the link from the family to the outside world, as education empowers students to progress. Part Two also presents the elderly as teachers of the children in their lives. This special relationship is seen in La Route d'Altamont. Part Three studies the relationship between life and nature. Roy's urban novels, Bonheur d'Occasion and Alexandre Chenevert, in which the author draws contrasts between rural and urban life, are explored. The gap between the urban dweller and nature is focused on in Alexandre Chenevert. The bond that links humankind and animals is studied in La Montagne Secrete. There is an important contrast between the inherent need for solitude and humankind's communion. The artist's place within the universe is shown to be unique. In this macro setting of humankind and the universe, all human relation ships take their places within these interwoven, circular patterns.

Researchers currently are according a great deal of importance to the genetic analysis of Gabrielle Roy's writings. Indeed, the author's manuscripts reveal important details about her creative process. In this thesis, we study the changes the author made to both style and content at different stages of the writing of "Jeannot-la-Corneille", one of the recits making up Cet ete qui chantait. The latter is one of Roy's least studied books. Our analysis of the modifications the author made to the content and style of her texts allows us to understand the reasons behind these changes and gives us as well a sense of Gabrielle Roy's creative work. Admired for the apparent ease with which she writes, the author reworks her text tirelessly in order to achieve the desired effects: precision, accuracy and musicality. Adjectives, adverbs, nouns, all parts of speech are subject to change in this quest to improve descriptions and, in so doing, deliver more effectively a message of hope.

This thesis offers a critical study of Gabrielle Roy's presence in Jacques Poulin's works. Roy is a character, a reference and an inspiration; her books and her brilliant green eyes enthral Poulin and his protagonists. She is present through intertextual references---the mention of her name, her books, her characters or her quotes---but also, in a more abstract sense, through influence. In order to study the relationship between the two authors, a set of themes common to their literary works are analysed: their North-American identity (americanite), and their ambiguous treatment of sexuality.