Mr. Speaker, how do I say it: Marie Cardinal has passed away. She died yesterday, in France, of cancer.
She marked the women of my generation by her fight to overcome her fears, by finding the words to understand her inner truths. In the 1980s, she said herself “I have loved my life, because it has been the antithesis of my youth. I told my story, and through incredible luck, my books developed a large following”.
While the world loses a talented writer, culture loses a woman of letters and a Hellenist of renown, and women lose a fighter, who put them in touch with their inner selves to look courageously at hurts and incurable longings in order to come to terms with life.
Marie Cardinal loved Quebec and divided her life between France and Montreal from the early 1960s. Her work survives her and will continue to spark the imagination of readers by opening the doors within.
We offer our condolences to her family and friends, to Jean-Pierre Ronfard and her daughter Alice. Quebec has lost a great friend.