Jacques Ferron
Jacques Ferron was a notable Canadian literary figure and family physician from Quebec, born to Joseph-Alphonse and Adrienne Carin Ferron. His early life was marked by personal loss, including the death of his mother when he was ten. Ferron's academic journey faced challenges, leading to multiple expulsions from schools before eventually earning a medical degree from the University of Laval. He began writing in 1947, shortly after his father's death and his divorce, with his first book, "L'Ogre," published in 1949. Ferron was politically active, co-founding the liberal left-wing Rhinoceros Party in the early 1960s, advocating for Quebec's sovereignty, a cause he passionately pursued throughout his life.
As a physician, he practiced family medicine and worked in psychiatric wards, using his experiences to inform his writings, which often explored themes of illness and healing. His literary contributions earned him several prestigious awards, including the Governor General's Prize of Canada for "Contes du pays incertain." Despite his literary and political successes, Ferron struggled with the unattainability of his vision for Quebec's independence, which ultimately led to a deep depression and his tragic death at the age of sixty-four from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ferron's life encapsulates a unique blend of literary achievement, medical practice, and fervent political activism.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Jacques Ferron
Author
- Born: January 20, 1921
- Birthplace: Louiseville, Quebec, Canada
- Died: April 22, 1985
Biography
Jacques Ferron, a celebrated literary figure and family physician, was born in Quebec, Canada. He was the son of Joseph-Alphonse Ferron and Adrienne Carin Ferron. His mother died in 1931, when Ferron was ten years old. Ferron attended Jean-de-Brebeuf High School but was expelled in 1936. He enrolled at Saint-Laurent High School and then was readmitted briefly to Jean-de-Brebeuf College before being expelled again. In 1941, he was accepted at the University of Leval, where he obtained a degree in medicine. While pursuing his medical degree, Ferron married his fellow student Magdeleine Therien. In 1945, Ferron joined the Canadian Army as a medic but was relieved of duty for medical reasons in 1946.
In 1947, upon the death of his father, Ferron returned home to Quebec and was divorced from his wife. At this time he began writing. In 1949, his first book, L’Ogre, was published. One year later he married Madeleine Lava Lee. In 1954, Ferron was appointed to the Canadian Peace Congress, which sparked his interest in politics. In the early 1960’s Ferron became the founder of the liberal left-wing Rhinoceros Party, which he described as an “intellectual-guerilla party.” During the following years, Ferron worked through the Rhinoceros Party to advance the movement to obtain Quebec’s sovereignty. Ferron’s left-wing views were not accepted by his family and peers.
Ferron founded the literary periodical Situations and contributed to the political publication Parti pris. Ferron also collaborated for over thirty years with L’Informacion medicale et paramedicale. As a physician, Ferron practiced family medicine and worked in several psychiatric wards. While working as a doctor, Ferron continued to write in his spare time. His writings centered on fictional stories of illness and healings and incorporated his own commentaries on medicine and health practices. His work was said to contain great originality and profound sympathy for human condition. Ferron’s writings received many awards. His work titled Contes du pays incertain won the 1962 Governor General’s Prize of Canada. His book Les Roses sauvages was awarded the French-Quebec Award in 1972. Ferron spent his later years striving to obtain Quebec’s succession from Canada. His dream was to see his homeland become and independent country. Realizing that Quebec’s sovereignty was unattainable, Ferron sank into a deep depression. Despite all of his successes, he could not live with this one failure. Jacques Ferron died at age sixty-four from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.