Smoking in Canadian Literature: The Pivotal Role

Canadian literature is celebrated for its rich tapestry of nuanced characters, evocative landscapes, and thought-provoking themes. Among these layers of storytelling, one intriguing motif often lingers—smoking. More than just a pastime, it serves as a narrative device, helping authors explore human emotions, relationships, and societal values. From iconic characters to poetic symbolism, smoking in Canadian literature has carved a unique space that deepens its narratives.

This article examines how smoking in Canadian literature shapes characters, symbolizes themes, and reflects societal shifts, drawing from notable authors and works.

Smoking as a Character Device

Smoking in Canadian literature frequently transcends its ordinary depiction, becoming a tool for character development. Authors often weave it into their stories to highlight personalities, struggles, and relationships, creating multi-dimensional characters.

Margaret Atwood, in her celebrated novel The Edible Woman, uses smoking as an emblem of rebellion. The protagonist’s relationship with smoking mirrors her inner conflict as she battles societal expectations. Through vivid moments of lighting a cigarette or discarding one in frustration, Atwood gives readers a glimpse into the protagonist’s fight for autonomy. Smoking in Canadian literature like this allows authors to create characters who feel deeply relatable and human.

Similarly, Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz spotlights smoking as a ritual for its ambitious protagonist, Duddy. The act reflects his relentless determination to succeed, often performed in moments of tension, triumph, or despair. By incorporating smoking as a deliberate action, Richler adds depth and grit to his character, making it a key element in Duddy’s quest for identity and success.

Smoking as a Literary Symbol

Beyond individual characters, smoking in Canadian literature frequently takes on symbolic meanings. It becomes a metaphor for complex themes like isolation, rebellion, or camaraderie, enriching the stories it inhabits.

Roch Carrier’s La Guerre, Yes Sir! exemplifies this symbolism during wartime. Scenes of soldiers sharing cigarettes speak to their fleeting moments of unity amid chaos. Smoking becomes a significant gesture—a pause from the brutality of battle and a symbol of shared humanity. This poignant use of smoking in Canadian literature underscores how small acts can carry immense emotional weight.

Poetry also embraces this motif. Leonard Cohen, revered both as a poet and a novelist, interweaves smoking imagery into his works to evoke themes of fleeting pleasure and existential contemplation. The imagery of swirling smoke often represents the fragility of life and the pursuit of deeper meaning. This artistic application of smoking in Canadian literature as a metaphor invites readers to ponder life’s impermanence.

The Dark Side of Smoking in Canadian Literature

While smoking in Canadian literature is sometimes romanticized, it also appears as a stark counterpoint—one laden with regret, addiction, and self-destruction. Many authors include smoking to grapple with the complicated relationship between comfort and harm.

Carol Shields’ The Stone Diaries captures this duality. Smoking is present in key moments, often used by characters as a crutch during times of loss or reflection. Shields explores smoking as a habit steeped in melancholy, aligning it with themes of unfulfilled dreams and the passage of time. This honest depiction is a hallmark of smoking in Canadian literature—offering a raw look into human vulnerability.

Similarly, Alistair MacLeod’s No Great Mischief leans on smoking to emphasize heritage and generational struggles. Here, smoking is tied to tradition and inherited burdens, reflecting characters’ deep ties to their roots. MacLeod uses smoking in Canadian literature to symbolize the weight of family legacies, illustrating how the past shapes the present.

Smoking as Societal Commentary

Smoking in Canadian literature frequently acts as a vehicle to critique societal structures or evoke cultural shifts. Authors use it to reflect how habits, once normalized, can evolve into contentious symbols of class, morality, and rebellion.

Heather O’Neill’s Lullabies for Little Criminals leverages smoking as an emblem of survival and societal neglect. For young, vulnerable characters, smoking isn’t glamorous—it’s a necessity born of hardship. Through vivid descriptions of children seeking solace in cigarettes, O’Neill reveals the stark undercurrents of poverty and loss. The role of smoking in Canadian literature like this highlights the reality of systemic challenges through the eyes of its characters.

Beyond hardship, smoking in Canadian literature also captivates readers as an act of defiance. The Beat Generation-inspired works of Gregory Scofield or Irving Layton treat smoking as a rebellious act against societal norms. Scenes of smoking emphasize resistance and individuality, marking it as a tool for authors to explore themes of freedom and nonconformity.

The Cinematic Beauty of Smoking in Canadian Fiction

Smoking in Canadian literature also brings vivid, cinematic imagery to the page. Authors skillfully describe the glow of a cigarette or the drift of smoke in a room, using these moments to create atmosphere and enhance narratives.

Take Michael Ondaatje’s Divisadero, where smoking is described with almost poetic detail. The slow movement of cigarette smoke mirrors the fluidity of memory and intimacy, anchoring readers in the protagonist’s contemplative world. These sensory details make smoking in Canadian literature more than an action—it becomes part of the story’s texture.

Even less famous Canadian works utilize smoking to heighten tension. Descriptions of striking matches or cigarette ash flickering in low light serve as subtle cues of mood and emotion. By immersing readers in these shared, sensory experiences, the power of smoking in Canadian literature reaches beyond words.

The Evolution of Smoking in Canadian Literature

With society’s changing attitudes toward smoking, its presence in modern Canadian literature has evolved. Contemporary writers address smoking more critically, approaching it as a symbol of difficult themes like trauma, addiction, or self-destruction, while still respecting its narrative versatility.

Eden Robinson is a standout in this regard. Her works weave smoking into the lives of her characters as part of larger explorations of addiction and loss. Robinson’s ability to balance the motif’s traditional weight with modern perspectives offers a fresh take on smoking in Canadian literature, proving that it remains a relevant and adaptable narrative device.

Even as smoking becomes less normalized in real life, its ability to capture human complexities ensures its ongoing presence in literature. Whether it’s a metaphor for inner turmoil or a tool to evoke nostalgia, smoking in Canadian literature continues to hold a vital place.

A Final Reflection

Smoking in Canadian literature does far more than fill a character’s hand or punctuate a paragraph—it’s an intricate thread that ties themes, settings, and characters together. From Margaret Atwood’s rebellious protagonists to Leonard Cohen’s smoky poetic musings, smoking in Canadian literature symbolizes defiance, longing, and human complexity.

Today’s writers may use smoking differently than their predecessors, but its legacy remains strong. By examining historical and modern works, it’s clear that smoking in Canadian literature is a reflection of human stories—full of contradiction, emotion, and meaning. It lingers in the imagination, much like smoke curling into the air, leaving readers with rich imagery and deeper connections to the stories they read.