Revolutionary Violence and the Encounter with the Other in Hubert Aquin‘s Prochain épisode

Abstract

This article establishes that Hubert Aquin produces in Prochain épisode, by way of an ambivalent narrative voice, at once philosopher of revolutions and reluctant humanist, a distinctive portrayal of the Quebecois pursuit of cultural, political and individual independence, one that also explores the nature of ethical agency. As this essay argues, Prochain épisode, interpreted as a pseudo-treatise on both the beguiling Cuban Revolution and on the nascent Quiet Revolution, creates a space where the humanism of Emmanuel Levinas interrupts, at intervals, the brutality of murderous acts and proto-nationalist rhetoric. This essay proposes an intersubjective reading of the Quebecois patriot‘s unsuccessful revolutionary project. The protagonist demonstrates that he possesses a sense of the ethical when, in the instances of facing the Other, he understands the exigency of the Face, and responds to its call by refusing murderous acts.