Robertine Barry

Journalist, Feminist and Activist

Robertine Barry (1863-1910) was the first of a handful of Quebec women journalists who wrote articles under a pseudonom (hers was Francoise) for women readers. Her first publication, a collection of short fictional pieces, Fleurs champêtres (1895), depicts with brutal honesty the harsh realities of the lives of women in rural Quebec, including abuse and exploitation. She was author of her own weekly column in the liberal publication La Patrie (1891-1895) and was responsible for the first women's page in a Quebec newspaper, "Le Coin de Fanchette,".  Roberta also had her own bi-monthly paper, Le Journal de Françoise (1902-1909), in which she publised the works of Laure Conan (Félicité Angers) and Émile Nelligan.

A popular lecturer and staunch supporter of women's rights, education and literary culture, Barry was appointed by the Canadian government as one of the Canadian women representatives to the 1900 Paris International Exhibition and she participated in the International Women's Congress held in conjunction with the Exhibition.   She also lobbied for the establishment of a municipal library in Montreal and assisted in the creation of libraries in two Quebec communities.  In  1909 she was named, by the Quebec government, inspector of women's working conditions. In 1904, the French government named Barry "Officier de l'Académie" in recognition of her contribution to French culture. She also held the position of President of the Women's Press Club of Canada. Robertine Barry is remembered as both a pioneer of feminism and journalism who used her position to advance the conditions of women of her time and helped pave the way for women's periodical literature and inspired other female writers including "Fadette" Henriette Dessaules, Anne-Marie Gleason and Felicite Angers to follow her lead.

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