“A fille du Roi’s Passage” by Adrienne Leduc is based on the journey of a woman named Jeanne. It would have been a hard journey based on knowing nothing about New France, that you would have to marry a colonist, and that you would have a better life. “Nagging Wife” by Noel showed how some fille du roi expanded their lives once they arrived in New France. Some women became their own entrepreneurs in the fur trade and taught their sons how to survive if their husbands died. Leduc recounts Jeanne’s life starting from her deciding to become a fille du roi and the process it required. Next we were told about what Jeanne would have encountered once arriving in Canada and the process, and importance, of finding a husband. “Intendant Jean Talon had given extraordinary orders to the local bachelors. If these men, mostly coureurs de bois, were not married within fifteen days after the arrival of the vessels carrying the filles du roi, they would be deprived of the right to trade, hunt, or fish. And the privileges of church and community would be withheld from them” (Leduc). Everyone was pushing for population in New France, and the more children you were to have, the more money you would have received from the crown. One probably chose to come to New France because they were impoverished, they were an orphan or had no support, and had little chance at survival in France. The money offered by the king was a way to escape poverty and hardship. However as mentioned in “Nagging Wife”, some women like ‘Marie-Anne Barbel’, “expanded the fur and marine oil business despite being left a widow with five children”. (Noel 48) Some women were able to become somewhat wealthy by entering the various businesses and making investments. A ‘Fille du Roi’ would have agreed to make the journey and to marry a colonist. What the missionaries told in church was that New France “was rumoured to be a lieu d’horreur and ‘the outskirts of hell’” (Leduc). Upon arriving these girls would have had some choice of whom they wanted to marry but it was a quick decision. For many women, New France was a new beginning and a chance at wealth and success. It was a hard path to take and if one was to make it through. In conclusion, these girls who traveled from France with the name ‘Fille du Roi’ were giving a new chance at life. Even though they knew very little about their new home, husband or life. Many of these women were able to prosper by creating opportunities for themselves within the trades. These women pioneered to Canada and are the ancestors to all French Canadians.

References: Noel, Jan. “‘Nagging Wife’ Revisited: Women and the Fur Trade in New France.” French Colonial History, 2006., 45, JSTOR Journals, EBSCOhost (accessed October 4, 2016). Leduc, Adrienne. “A Fille du Roi’s Passage.” Beaver 81, no. 1 (February 2001): 20. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed October 4, 2016).