...[E]migration is a matter of necessity, not of choice ; and this is more especially true of the emigration of persons of respectable connections, or of any station or position in the world. Few educated persons, accustomed to the refinements and luxuries of European society, ever willingly relinquish those advantages, and place themselves beyond the protective influence of the wise and revered institutions of their native land, without the pressure of some urgent cause. Emigration may, indeed, generally be regarded as an act of severe duty, performed at the expense of personal enjoyment, and accompanied by the sacrifice of those local attachments which stamp the scenes amid which our childhood grew, in imperishable characters upon the heart. Nor is it until adversity has pressed sorely upon the proud and wounded spirit of the well-educated sons and daughters of old but impoverished families, that they gird up the loins of the mind, and arm themselves with fortitude to meet and dare the heart-breaking conflict.
The ordinary motives for the emigration of such persons may be summed up in a few brief words; — the emigrant's hope of bettering his condition, and of escaping from the vulgar sarcasms too often hurled at the less wealthy by the purse-proud, commonplace people of the world. But there is a higher motive ...still, which has its origin in that love of ndependence which springs up spontaneously in the breasts of the high-souled children of a glorious land. They cannot labour in a menial capacity in the country where they were born and educated to command. They can trace no difference between themselves and the more fortunate individuals of a race whose blood warms their veins, and whose name they bear. The want of wealth alone places an impassable barrier between them and the more favoured offspring of the same parent stock; and they go forth to make for themselves a new name and to find another country, to forget the past and to live in the future, to exult in the prospect of their children being free and the land of their adoption great.
The ordinary motives for the emigration of such persons may be summed up in a few brief words; — the emigrant's hope of bettering his condition, and of escaping from the vulgar sarcasms too often hurled at the less wealthy by the purse-proud, commonplace people of the world. But there is a higher motive ...still, which has its origin in that love of ndependence which springs up spontaneously in the breasts of the high-souled children of a glorious land. They cannot labour in a menial capacity in the country where they were born and educated to command. They can trace no difference between themselves and the more fortunate individuals of a race whose blood warms their veins, and whose name they bear. The want of wealth alone places an impassable barrier between them and the more favoured offspring of the same parent stock; and they go forth to make for themselves a new name and to find another country, to forget the past and to live in the future, to exult in the prospect of their children being free and the land of their adoption great.
We are on the brink of forgetting these obvious kinds of reality.
Emigrating to the US was not an option, and this I think is because Canada was a part of Britain, and also, the prospect of a country where slavery was legal was repellent to her abolitionist heart. I surmise this, she does not actually address that point.
Here is a good example of the differences of poetry and prose. She addresses her new home in these words, also, in a poem entitled "Canada," which we excerpt.
Canada, the blest -- the free!
....
Joy, to the sullen wilderness
I come, her gloomy shades to bless,
To bid the bear and wild-cat yield
Their savage haunts to town and field.
Joy to stout hearts and willing hands,
That win a right to these broad lands,
And reap the fruit of honest toil,
Lords of the rich abundant soil.
.....
Obviously her gift is for prose. In fact, Susanna's Moodie's greatest contribution to literature, and it is significant, are her letters, published only last century. Letters of a Lifetime (1985) was edited by Carl Ballstadt, Elizabeth Hopkins, and Michael Peterman. Her letters show a talent for acute observation and a kind kind heart. In this country she is little known, and that's a pity, because Moodie writes about the life of humanity.
Canada, the blest -- the free!
....
Joy, to the sullen wilderness
I come, her gloomy shades to bless,
To bid the bear and wild-cat yield
Their savage haunts to town and field.
Joy to stout hearts and willing hands,
That win a right to these broad lands,
And reap the fruit of honest toil,
Lords of the rich abundant soil.
.....
Obviously her gift is for prose. In fact, Susanna's Moodie's greatest contribution to literature, and it is significant, are her letters, published only last century. Letters of a Lifetime (1985) was edited by Carl Ballstadt, Elizabeth Hopkins, and Michael Peterman. Her letters show a talent for acute observation and a kind kind heart. In this country she is little known, and that's a pity, because Moodie writes about the life of humanity.
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