Lifestyles of the Not So Famous

As historians, we are often attracted to the enigmatic figure and the imagery that accompanies this curiosity. The advent of ‘social history’ in the second half of the twentieth century emphasizes this aspect. Historians became interested and involved in the lives of those who some would deem historically ‘insignificant’. However, the minor histories of ‘insignificant’ lives builds a significant window into the world of societies past. It is now popular to delve deep and uncover what little remains of these unknown figures in order to piece together an image of a specific time and space.

We are often interested in people about which we know very little. Imagery serves to further this allure. In my last post,I commented on the Unibroue brewery’s use of French-Canadian heritage to promote their particular brands of beer. In this instance, the key to success for this type of marketing is the use of enigmatic figures. Here, the enigmatic is impersonal which accentuates the mystique. When considering, for example, the icons representing the beer Maudite (the coureurs des bois and voyageurs), images of brave, intrepid and romantic adventurers come to mind. However, these mental images are derived from tangible recreations – by which I am referring to archived sketches, works by such artists as Frances Ann Hopkins, or re-enactments.

To again use the example of Unibroue and the enigmatic figure, I point to the beer, Chambly Noire. A soldier of the Carignan-Salieres stands proud upon the label. These soldiers played a significant role in the survival of the colony of New France in its early days. However, no faces remain except for the romantic images that have been created to strengthen the appeal. This one soldier’s story, at face value, would appear insignificant, but to access it would prove invaluable in the picture that we could draw regarding the collective history. The image becomes representative and having no true identity, the figure becomes larger than life.

In, Who Killed Canadian History, J.L. Granatstein argues that the popularity of social history in academia has served to diminish the study and proliferation of a Canadian national history. Granatstein fears the loss of the great figures and epic events that comprise our political history. Yet, we get a greater sense of our own history and social fabric when we study a past that is personal and emblematic of who we are. We need not disassemble the images that represent the enigmatic to achieve this aim. We should, however, include a micro-history that familiarizes our past in order to give a more complete image. Combined, these figures can be both larger than life, but also understood. For, if we are unable to make some sort of connection, then our historical figures remain impersonal and disconnected from our own collective history.

Reference: Granatstein, J.L. Who Killed Canadian History? Toronto: Harper Collins, 1998.
Image: Canoe Manned by Voyageurs Passing a Waterfall (Ontario), 1869, by Frances Anne Hopkins