Three Canadian Mennonite Writers

Abstract

<p>This thesis is a study of three Canadian writers of Mennonite background, and their response to that ethno-religious heritage in their work. Rudy Wiebe, Patrick Friesen, and Armin Wiebe have responded to that heritage in different ways, and show varying degrees of cultural and religious retention. Patrick Friesen no longer is associated with any Mennonite church, but considers himself to be ethnically Mennonite and relies heavily on the Mennonite world for subject matter and setting. In his narrative poem, The Shunning, he sometimes criticizes the Mennonite community and sometimes celebrates it. In The Salvation of Yasch Siemens Armin Wiebe celebrates the Mennonite community and way of life, and finds in his heritage a rich mine for humour. Of the three writers, Rudy Wiebe has the most complex relationship to his faith and community; he repeatedly explores the tension between Mennonite ethnicity and the Anabaptist faith in his attempt to realize the full meaning of Mennonite Christianity.</p>