Nazanin

The Diary of Thèrese Clary Dear Diary, April, 27 1665 I am so happy that my terrible voyage here is over. The vast ocean is no place for an orphan from the streets of Paris. Now that I am finally here I see that this little town is nothing like Paris. It is mostly made up of men working their little strips of farm and only a few women in comparison. The houses are all so modest! Even their church is simple, but the room I’ve been given at the convent is filled with more things than I have had my entire life! I have a hood, a kerchief, shoes, gloves, a bonnet, stockings, dresses, a comb, scissors, sewing tools and more! I thought that there was a mistake but one of the nuns informed me that this is my dowry as a fille du roi and that when I am married I will receive an ox, cow, two pigs, two chickens, two barrels of salt beef along with a large amount of money. With all this I almost feel like royalty despite the surprisingly cold climate I have entered. I talked to some of the married women in the town and they seem equally content with their lives here. They say the work is hard, especially as they alternate between working on the fields and caring for their families, but bearable. I have to admit though; I’m very worried that I won’t be able to handle all of this work. The women here are all experienced and they flaunt their patchwork dresses like art whereas I can barely sew let alone tend a field of crops. They say I will learn in time but what if I don’t? What if all I have to contribute is my dowry? Oh, I don’t know, I suppose I’ll just go to dinner and try to sleep off my doubts. A Bientot!

The Diary of Th è rese Olivier n ée Clary Dear Diary, May 2, 1665

I am married! The day after my last entry I met with one of the priests, Jean Pierre, and we talked of my troubles and worries. He seemed to understand exactly what I was going through and afterwards I felt much better and took his advice to trust in god.. The next day I dressed up in one of the beautiful dresses I’d received as my dowry and went with the other girls to find a husband. At first I found myself standing in the corner feeling very uncomfortable as the other girls were practically auctioned off to the habitants. Eventually Father Jean Pierre noticed me standing awkwardly in the corner and he led me to the center and began to introduce me to some of the men. One of them, Alexandre Olivier, caught my eye. He seemed kind, intelligent and hard working and before I knew it he and I were getting married by the priest! The next day I was moved into his tiny house along with all of my belongings. The house has only three rooms. One bedroom and one main room where our kitchen, and fireplace our located. We don’t have much furniture except what I received as my dowry and what Alexandre brought from his home but I think that what we have is enough to live a relatively comfortable life. I’d already been told how the habitants eat four meals a day, with their two big meals at the start of the day and end of the day, so the next day I prepared our meals myself, Alexandre seemed very impressed. I have tried to start helping with the farming and the caring of our animals but halfway through the day my hands were worked raw so Alexandre took pity on me and told me to see if I could find any easier work in the house. I was very grateful and to show my gratitude I’ll work as hard as I can tomorrow. I spent the rest of the day organizing our little house. I placed our few chairs and tools in the living room along with the loom and I reinforced my thin dresses with wool so I could keep warm when I worked the fields. I’m starting to realize that I enjoy this hard work, it gives me a sense of purpose even though it is gruelling. I must go and prepare our dinner of stew and bread, I hope Alexandre likes it!

Bibliography: "Life in New France"Eric Skeoch. (971.01 SKE) "Life in New France" Rosemary Neering. (971.01 NEE) "Madeline de Vercheres" Janet Grant. (971.01 GRA) "New France and the Fur Trade" Douglas Baldwin. (971.01 BAL) "The Colonial Dream" Harold Horwood. (971.01 HOR)