Marie-Louise Marmette (1870–1928) (

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

as Marie-Louise-Joséphine-Esther-Eliza), known as Louyse de Bienville (Brodeur), was a

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

author and lecturer. She often used the pseudonym Domino Noir.

Youth

Marie-Louise Marmette was born in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

on March 29, 1870. Her mother was Marie-Joséphine Garneau. Her father, Joseph-Étienne-Eugène Marmette, was a prolific

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

writer and one of the founders of the Cercle des Dix, an Ottawa literary society, who she accompanied to several literary salons in Quebec City. Her maternal grandfather was the historian

François-Xavier Garneau François-Xavier Garneau (June 15, 1809 – February 2 or February 3, 1866) was a nineteenth-century French Canadian notary, poet, civil servant and liberal who wrote a three-volume history of the French Canadian nation entitled ''Histoire du Can ...

. From 1880 to 1882, Marie-Louise studied with the religious community of the

Ursulines of Quebec The Ursuline Monastery of Quebec City () was founded by a missionary group of Ursuline nuns in 1639 under the leadership of Mother Marie of the Incarnation, O.S.U. It is the oldest institution of learning for women in North America. Today, the ...

. She continued her studies in Ottawa with the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, and studied literature in the four years her family lived in Paris, during her father's appointment as an archivist for the Canadian Federal Government. She was married in the summer of 1892 in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

to Donat Brodeur, who practiced law. The couple subsequently settled in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and had eight children.

Literary career

Marmette's writing, an interest inspired by the 1870 novel '' François de Bienville'', spanned 25 years. * 1902–1909: contributed to the ''Journal de Françoise'', which was founded in Montreal by the journalist Robertine Barry. * 1913–1915: continued to collaborate with the Montreal women's press, notably in the magazine ''Pour Vous mesdames''; this magazine was founded and directed by Georgine Bélanger. * 1913–1916: published writings in '' La Bonne Parole'', the origin of the National Federation of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, an organization she was actively involved in. Under the aegis of this organization, she lectured during monthly meetings of the Professional Association of Factory Employees and the Professional Association of Shop Employees (associations overseen by the federation). * 1920–1924: had two of her texts published in '' La Revue moderne'' of Anne-Marie Gleason. Marmette contributed to general publications, in particular: ''Le Temps d'Ottawa'', ''Le Pays de Montréal'', ''Le Courrier de Montmagny'', and ''Le Soleil''. However, she never published a book. She also wrote literary chronicles, biographies, short stories, tales, poetry, and essays on a variety of topics including current affairs. She also wrote about the state of national literature and the advent of feminism, which she considered to be one of the most serious undertakings of humanity. Her writing on this subject appeared in the October 1913 edition of ''Pour Vous mesdames''. An admirer of French women's courage in this struggle, she wrote in June 1916, "A people magnified by such women will never be defeated." In a daily newspaper column for the newspaper '' La Presse'' of January 18, 1919, writing on

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, she claimed voting as a right for women, as well as its free use. Marmette also demonstrated an interest in current affairs, especially

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(in which her three sons signed up as volunteers), publishing a column "War Pages" in the magazine ''Pour Vous Mesdames'' in October 1914, and later columns in ''La Bonne Parole'' in February, March, May, and June 1916. Following the death of Marie-Louise in 1928, her daughter Marguerite collected nearly thirty examples of her writings and published them in 1931 in Montreal under the title ''Figures et Paysages''. This posthumous publication, heralded as the first of four, aimed to pay her mother a tribute; however, there was no follow-up to it.

Family

In the summer of 1892, in Ottawa, Marmette married Donat Brodeur, a lawyer. They settled in Montreal and had eight children. She died in Montreal on May 2, 1928.

Notes and references

Bibliography

*Article "Louyse Marmette, journaliste, petite-fille de F.-Xavier Garneau", by René Houde, ''La Presse'', Montreal, July 28, 1966, p. 14 - Biographical summary.
Commission de toponymie du Québec - Banque de noms de lieux - Toponym: "Marie-Louise Marmette" street of Montreal.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marmette, Marie-Louise 1870 births 1928 deaths Journalists from Quebec 19th-century Canadian writers 20th-century Canadian writers 19th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers