The massive emergence of French-Canadian women of letters in journalistic literary practice at the end of the nineteenth century is inseparable from two great social mutations: urbanization and the development of the media. Yet, the literary activity of women during this period still goes largely unrecognized because journalistic writing is often considered secondary to poetry and the novel. A transversal reading of the literary criticism engaged in by women in newspapers and periodicals during this era gives a quantitative idea of the presence of literature in the media and helps bring to light a significant landmark in the history of women’s letters. Pioneering female journalist Robertine Barry (1863-1910), pseudonym Françoise, provides unique insight into the evolution of the discursive strategies used by literary women according to the various platforms they have used. Over her career, she progressed from a tone of excessive humility to one of authority and discernment.
