Analysis Of Windflower By Gabrielle Roy

In the novel “Windflower” by Gabrielle Roy, we are introduced to Elsa Kumachuck, a young First Nations girl living in a small town characterized by its bare, inhospitable environment and a community divided between the Inuit people and the Caucasians. As the plot unveils we are given a graphic scene where our protagonist is raped by an American man. The pregnancy, which is the result of the sexual assault, produces a child who becomes the focal point of the novel as well a source of marvel for many of the inhabitants of the town. As Elsa tries to raise the child alone she finds it difficult to resist the influence of the community they are stuck in: from the boy’s ethnicity, to her own heritage but most significantly her setting. Whenever Elsa

We see how the presence of European settlers have affected the Inuit people and their ideals. They have seem to have abandoned their traditional garments and enjoy the same activities typical of the Caucasian people. We see the effect of the influence when it is time for Elsa to raise her child. Under the tutelage of a white woman, Mme. Beaulieu, she cares for her child in a manner which is strange for her culture. She baths him, and dresses him in the cloths suggested to her by Mme. Beaulieu. She also revokes all things Inuit, only allowing her mother to care for the boy when she is at work, a job she takes so she may offer the child the possessions she is told are necessary. We see that since she lives in a small town, she has little choice when it comes to the individuals who will play a significant role in her life, even her unplanned baby. This child had more influence not only because of his relation to Elsa but also because of his unique color, he was white, with blue eyes and curly blond hair. She didn’t seem to see Jimmy as an Inuit boy. There may be a chance she didn’t want her son to live as an Inuit because she saw how hopeless they are: her mother was a source of distain for her and if she raised her son the way her mother raised her, Elsa would have a greater chance of becoming the woman she despises. She radically raised him by ideas given to her by Mme. Beaulieu, a woman she considered a