Little Big Things

Originally, I had planned for this story to be included in  Part 1  of this two-part series on the Château Saint-Louis in Québec. After all, both halves have a central running theme: the role the Château and its inhabitants, the Governors General of New France, played in their original historical context - and the legacies they have left behind in the Canada of today. However, while doing the research and outlining for it, I discovered that, rather than one story, I actually had two - and each (especially this one) would need its own space for me to really do it justice. The first post, if you will recall, focused on the Château Saint-Louis's material culture, based on research conducted by Philippe Halbert using the personal inventories of two such Governors General. My contribution then had been on how the colonial aristocracy's attempts to emulate the lifestyles of their French counterparts called into question my own understanding of Canadian cultural values.  This second