Date of Award

Summer 1947

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Department of Romance Languages

First Advisor

Rudolph Matas

Abstract

Dr. Alfred Mercier stands prominent as the most prolific writer of the French language that Louisiana has produced. His was the last generation of Creoles, educated in France, who presented a direct influence of French culture upon Louisiana. His life spanned the years when the Creole was supreme, when American economic and eventual cultural control of New Orleans became evident, the years of the war and reconstruction, and the years which saw the disappearance of French as the active language in the life of the city. Dr. Mercier's constant aim of retaining a position of active importance for the Creole, his language, and all things Neo-Latin, in a region where the Anglo-Saxon and English claimed predominance, is reflected in his writings and activities. With this view be established, in 1876, L'Athenée Louisianais, a society whose publication, Les Comptes Rendus, contained almost exclusively the French literature of Louisiana in the second half of the nineteenth century.

It Is the purpose of this thesis to present the personal Journals of Dr. Mercier written during the years 1879 through 1893, with such annotation as is necessary for the appreciation of their full content. This is done with the hope that there may be gained a clearer picture of his personality and philosophy as intimately associated with Creole life in New Orleans. For this purpose the work has been divided into an introduction and five chapters, the first two containing historical background and biographical material respectively, and the succeeding three being composed of the journals.

Perhaps the picture revealed in the journals may serve to contribute to the appreciation of Dr. Mercier and to a broader evaluation of Creole society, of which he was the most authentic portraitist and interpreter.

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