Viola Léger, cherished Acadian artist and senator, laid to rest
La Sagouine actor Viola Léger eulogized as the voice of the Acadian people
A funeral was held Tuesday morning at Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption Cathedral in Moncton for Acadian senator, actor and cultural icon Viola Léger, whose influence spread far beyond the stages of New Brunswick.
Best known for bringing to life the character of a humble, straight-talking washerwoman — created by her friend, author Antonine Maillet in the 1971 play La Sagouine — Léger is credited with inspiring pride among Acadian people and being a voice of wisdom and solidarity that resonated across social strata and linguistic divides.
Léger died Jan 28. She was 92.
In a recorded video played at the funeral, Maillet said she was grateful to Léger for giving the character a heart and soul.
Léger was the person who drew crowds to the tourist park in Bouctouche and she was a big part of the book's success, said Maillet.
On the way into the church, Denise Bouchard, a comedian, screenwriter and director, who played the character of Mariaagélas at Pays de la Sagouine, said she had many fond memories of working with Léger over a 20-year period.
It's like losing a mother, she said.
Léger was a great mentor, who offered encouragement and support, imparted life lessons and was dedicated to perfecting her craft, said Bouchard.
She had a great sense of humour, she said, and will be irreplaceable.
'She was an Acadian icon'
She said colleagues have dealt with her loss at the theme park since Léger was sidelined by a stroke several years ago by having other characters borrow from bits of her monologues, as if they're retelling her stories.
It's going to take time to mourn and properly reflect on the future of the character, said Bouchard.
Louise Imbeault, chancellor of University of Moncton, said she had known Léger for more than 50 years, going back to when she taught drama to students at Ecole Vanier and in Shediac.
She was a great actor in other roles, too, said Imbeault, and a benefactor of theatre and of the university.
"She was a model that we would like to be able to repeat a certain number of times because we need great people like that — great ladies like that. It's no exaggeration to say she was an Acadian icon," said Imbeault.
Historian Maurice Basque said Léger was interested in giving a voice to people who were traditionally underrepresented.
She did that as a senator, too, he said, noting she was very interested in Indigenous issues in her committee work.
Léger was appointed to the Senate in 2001, and sat there until her retirement at 75 in 2005.
Expressed her own story through character
Basque said he's been surprised by the extent of Léger's impact, after hearing from people in the arts community that she helped get through school or supported by going to their shows.
Caraquet senator and artist René Cormier gave the eulogy.
He said it was a great honour and privilege to celebrate the exceptional life and career of Viola Léger — a woman, a teacher, an actor, a senator and engaged citizen.
Cormier acknowledged a great outpouring of tributes from across the country and around the world since Léger's death.
She possessed a unique and incomparable presence, he said, and had a remarkable talent to be in the moment and look you straight in the eye.
Léger breathed life into the tragic and resilient story of the Acadian people, he said, as well as into Maillet's fictional antiheroine — a cod-fisher's daughter, with a keen sense of her people's suffering and an ability to see life lucidly, compassionately and poetically.
La Sagouine became a part of her, he said, and at the same time allowed her to express her own personal story.
Léger served as a mentor, colleague and sincere friend to a great number of Acadian artists, said Cormier, and her immense success was an inspiration that made a career in the arts seem possible for many.
"She encouraged us to dream big," he said.
Cormier quoted, in French, from Léger's last speech in the Upper Chamber, during which she spoke about Acadian artists: "Whether they still live in the land of their ancestors or now find themselves in the four corners of the world, they've laboured and will continue to do so, in order to help us collectively sketch the portrait of our identity — an identity that doesn't shy away from its folklore or its modernity – an identity focused on imagination, innovation and creative progress."
"She takes with her a piece of the Acadian spirit," he said, "but I profoundly believe her voice will resonate for generations, nourishing the identity and the pride of the first francophone people to set foot on this continent."
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With files from Radio-Canada
