Wacousta
Your companion through Richardson's founding Canadian Gothic.
John Richardson's Wacousta (1832) is the founding novel of Canadian literature — a Gothic tale of siege, revenge, and wilderness terror set during Pontiac's Uprising of 1763.
This guide is your companion through Richardson's unsettling vision. Inside: historical and genre context, thematic explorations, discussion prompts, and a theoretical framework that asks who gets to write the past, and at what cost.
Theoretical Companion
"The Garrison Mentality" by Northrup Frye, from The Bush Garden
Frye's garrison mentality describes a settler consciousness perpetually under siege — a fort that keeps the enemy out, and the prisoner in. It sounds like a simple description of pioneer life. It isn't.
Also Included in this Guide
- Historical and genre context (Scott, Cooper, and the making of a colonial form)
- Key themes and close-reading moments
- Discussion and essay prompts
- Theoretical framework and discussion
Wacousta has been waiting for that kind of reader for nearly two centuries.
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