The Early Life of Marie de l'Incarnation
Marie de l’Incarnation was born Marie Guyart at Tours, France on 28 October 1599. Because of her father’s success as a master baker, and her mother’s noble heritage, Marie was able to attend school at a very young age. Not only did this ensure that Marie had a very stable upbringing, it also allowed her to become literate, unlike many people of the age.
Marie allowed herself to be married to a silk-worker in 1617, but his death after only two years of marriage meant that Marie was left alone to raise her six-month-old son. She did so successfully for many years, during which time she became responsible for the running of her brother-in-law’s carrier business due to her exemplary business skills.
Marie Joins the Ursulines
Eventually, though, Marie could no longer ignore the call of religion, and at the age of 27 she decided to join the Ursulines, a Roman Catholic order for pious women. After much preparation, she left her son to the care of her sister and entered the Ursuline cloister.
In 1633, Marie took her vows, and became an Ursuline nun under her new name of Marie de l’Incarnation. It did not take long for her to be made an instructor of doctrine and assistant mistress of novices thanks to her business experiences.
Marie knew that this was only the beginning for her, though. On 4 May 1639, after a dream in which God explicitly told her to do so, Marie and her fellow Ursuline nuns sailed for Canada. They were the first female religious figures to do so.
Marie de l'Incarnation's Importance to New France
By 1642, the Ursulines, under the direction of Marie de l’Incarnation, were successful in having built a three-storey, 92-foot-long convent. Unfortunately, the building was destroyed in a fire by 31 December of that year, so the women were forced to rebuild their home. It was at this new convent that Marie took in numerous young women to train in both religious and secular matters. Beginning with only 18 to 20 boarders, the school quickly grew to much larger numbers, including numerous young native girls. Marie’s early education and great intellect were put to great use in this endeavor, as she was able to learn both the Algonkin and Iroquoian languages before long.
Marie de l’Incarnation was important to the development of Canada in other ways as well. Almost as soon as she arrived in the New World, Marie began to make important connections, and before long she became good friends with numerous important men, including governors and intendants, who often sought her advice. Furthermore, with the assistance of Jesuit missionaries, Marie drew up Constitutions for the colony, and wrote French-Algonkin, Algonkin-French and Iroquoian dictionaries.
On 30 April 1672, after more than thirty successful years in Canada, Marie de l’Incarnation died. Hundreds of her letters survive to this day, and each one describes the unrelenting struggles that she went through in helping the French establish the colony.
Sources:
Conrad, Margaret and Alvin Finkel. Canada: A National History (Second Edition). Toronto: Pearson Longman, 2007.
Chabot, Marie-Emmanuel. "Marie de l'Incarnation." Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?BioId=34392.
