Nineteenth-century Montreal convents are complex, multi-functional buildings. As a form of collective housing, convents provided an alternative urban "space" for women, one in which they were able to realize themselves individually and collectively. This thesis explores the Mother House of the Grey Nuns, typical of Montreal's convents, as a purpose-built environment for women. / The research involves the extensive use of a unique documentary legacy preserved in the archives of the Grey Nuns: the architectural drawings and written accounts of Soeur Saint-Jean-de-la-Croix (1854-1921), in addition to the religious community's annals and period photographs. These documents recorded how the nuns organized their own built environment and permit a reconstruction of the convent's spatial arrangements, one hundred years after the fact. Although this building is monumental and designed by prominent Montreal architect Victor Bourgeau, it is only from exploring the perspectives of the users that we can truly see how large institutions operated. The division of the plans, the massing of the convent and its siting, among other aspects, communicate the nuns' distinct way of life, one that questioned the traditional boundaries of public and private imposed by society in turn-of-the-century Montreal, albeit from a limited position. / The convent is situated within the larger context of nineteenth-century Montreal, especially its hospitals, schools, asylums, and homes. While it shared many of the distinctive architectural features that characterized these building types, the convent also differed from them significantly in its organization. This thesis is intended to enrich our understanding of convents, the place in history of religious communities and the development of women in Quebec.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.23201 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Martin, Tania Marie |
| Contributors | Adams, AnnMarie (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Architecture (School of Architecture.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001473510, proquestno: MM07910, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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