Threads in the tapestry: Michael Tremblay and the variation of genre

The Quebecois writer Michel Tremblay has produced more than forty works ranging from plays to novels, short stories and autobiographical narratives. Many of these are connected by the recurrence of characters, most notably that of the figure of the writer, his family and their entourage. This thesis examines the recurrence of the central figure across the literary genres used by Tremblay, thereby revealing the structure of his oeuvre while studying the effect of the variation of its genres.;Employing the metaphor of the tapestry whose central character is its weaver, the study utilizes textual approaches to analyze the character throughout Tremblay's works but in particular in nine, three drawn from each of the genres of the novel, autobiography and theatre. Philippe Hamon's (1983) semiotic theories of literary personnel permit the examination of the character inscribed in the text while its reception by the reader or audience in each of the three genres studied is then examined using the theories of Vincent Jouve (1992). The semiotic and reception analyses reveal the main traits of the character in each genre, permitting comparison between them. Theories specific to each of the genres assist in differentiating their effect on the contents of the texts. Finally, in order to examine the weaving of the tapestry as a process, Mikhail Bakhtine's (1990; 1984) theories of architectonics are employed to show how the character, and thus Tremblay's oeuvre , developed work by work over the course of the writing and through the variation of the literary genre.;The analysis reveals that as the tapestry develops over time, the writer comes to occupy its centre and increasingly to reveal himself as a character, narrator and author. The variation of genres advances this process as Tremblay comes ever closer to complete self-revelation, claiming his heritage, identity and name. The tapestry approaches the total revelation of the figure of the author through an autobiographical play which allows him, as both narrator and character, to fulfill the role predicted for his fictional counterpart---to recreate and relive life through art.