Browse the obituary of residing in the province of Nouveau-Brunswick for funeral details
Antonine Maillet, la grande voix de l’Acadie,
passed away peacefully on the night of February 17, 2025 at her home
in Montreal.
Born in Bouctouche on May 10, 1929, she was the daughter of
the late Léonide and Virginie (Cormier) Maillet. She is
predeceased by her brothers and sisters: Anna (Hervé
Michaud), Thérèse (Albéo Michaud), Sr
Jeanne, Cécile, Claudette, Gabrielle, Lionel (Juliette
Richard), father Achille and Laurie (Marie Bastarache). She is
survived by relatives and friends of the extended Acadian family, as
well as by many colleagues from the literary world around the
world.
Novelist, playwright and essayist, Antonine Maillet’s work
resonates with the breath of a uniquely French language. Today, her
reputation extends throughout the French-speaking world and far
beyond.
Carried by a unique voice – which still echoed in its breath
the language of Rabelais, of whom Antonine Maillet was a specialist –
her work, which began in 1958 with Pointe-aux-Coques and ended in 2024
with Le roi Ovide XIX, includes over forty works of fiction and
drama.
A leading figure in contemporary Acadian literature, she has
received numerous literary awards over the course of her prolific
career, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for Don
l’Orignal, published in 1968, and the prestigious Prix Goncourt in
1979 for her novel Pélagie-la-Charrette, making her the
first non-European woman to receive it. More than 45 years after its
publication, Pélagie-la-Charrette remains the only Canadian
work to have won the Goncourt.
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in 1950 from
Collège Notre-Dame d’Acadie, she joined the
Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur congregation and, as a nun, took
the name Sister Marie-Grégoire. It was while living in
community that she published her first books, including her first
novel Pointe-aux-Coques and her play Poire-Acre in 1958. She completed
an M.A. in 1959, and in the late ’60s studied in Paris. In 1970, she
obtained a doctorate in literature from Université Laval.
Her thesis, Rabelais et les traditions populaires en Acadie, was
published in 1971. Antonine Maillet taught for many years, first at
Collège Notre-Dame d’Acadie, then at Université
de Moncton, Collège des Jésuites de
Québec, Université Laval and
Université de Montréal.
In July 1971, at the Université de Moncton’s
Champlain Library, Antonine Maillet and her accomplice Viola
Léger staged the first edition of La Sagouine’s monologues,
a memorable production that went on to become a resounding success in
Acadia, Quebec and English Canada. Antonine Maillet’s success was the
first of many, culminating in the award of the Goncourt
Prize.
From 1989 to 2000, Antonine Maillet was Chancellor of the
Université de Moncton, becoming the first woman to hold
this position. In 1999, as Chancellor, she took part in the
Francophonie Summit held in Moncton, and hosted the welcoming ceremony
for French President Jacques Chirac in Memramcook, the cradle of
modern Acadia. In 2001, the University named her Chancellor Emeritus,
a title offered for the first and only time by the institution. Jewels
from her personal and professional collection are preciously preserved
at the Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson in the
Fonds d’archives Antonine-Maillet.
Her work inspired the creation of a unique Canadian tourist
attraction, Le Pays de la Sagouine, which opened in 1992 on Bouctouche
Bay. In this wonderful place of creation and gathering, Antonine
Maillet’s imagination gives life to a multitude of characters,
offering more than a hundred actors and actresses the opportunity to
live their passion for French-language theater to the
full.
In addition to some thirty honorary doctorates, this
emblematic figure of Acadian literature has received numerous high
distinctions over the course of her prolific career, including
Companion of the Order of Canada, Member of the Order of New
Brunswick, Officer of the Ordre de la Pléiade of the
Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie and Commander of
the Ordre du mérite de France. In 2021, the President of
the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, awarded him the insignia of
Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Légion d’honneur, the highest
rank in the order. In 2024, Canada Post issued a stamp bearing her
effigy.
Antonine Maillet’s funeral service will be held at
Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption Cathedral, 226 Saint George Street,
Moncton, on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, we ask that those wishing to pay their
respects consider making a donation to the Montreal palliative care
organization, Les Trois sentiers:
auxtroissentiers.org/faire-un-don/.
Messages of condolence can be sent
to www.salonfrenette.com.
1929 2025
Death notice for the town of: Moncton, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick
death notice Antonine Maillet 1929 2025
obituaries notice Antonine Maillet 1929 2025
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Antonine Maillet 1929 2025 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
