Vern Thiessen’s Vimy play portrays both positive and negative aspects of the Canadian war. In positive aspects, the play describes the Vimy War as a source of nationhood, while on the other hand, the author illustrates the perils of war. The Canadian memory of the conflict is as cataclysmic as other Western societies, particularly the British one, wherein the “hesitant coming of age” results from accepting a loss of ideas. On the other hand, the First World War narrative of the Canadian soldiers is also rewritten through a complicated structure of nostalgia for a period and incidents that might reinforce a set of positive principles during the period; many fatalities were reported, which led to mental suffering and anguish among the family members. Thus, the paper investigates how the 2007 play Vimy illustrates the positive or negative impacts triggered by the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the implications of these changes in contemporary Canada.
Lermitte indicates that the main advantage of the Vimy Rdge War was the creation of patriotism and nationhood (123). One of the main symbols of Canadian nationhood and a pivotal moment that influenced Canada’s international standing as a sovereign was the Battle of Vimy Ridge, as described by Vern Thiessen’s Vimy play. Lermitte also observes that following decades of shifting out and in of the cultural and social framework of Canada (124). Vimy has come back into the general population’s consciousness thanks to a revival of fascination in war and heritage following Pierre Breton’s well-received 1986 release of Vimy. With the memory stereotype that permeates organizational and academic discussions on war, the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Canadian Vimy Memorial, located on the conflict’s site, remain the focal points of Canada’s contemporary depiction of World War I.
This pivotal moment in Canada’s history is the subject of Vimy, a powerful recollection played by Vern Thiessen. Through the inclusion of recollections, private events as conversations, and situations of racism and homoeroticism which contradict the conventional “unified” story of Vimy, Thiessen’s project undoubtedly offers a revisionist history (Humphries 512). Thiessen challenges his modern consumers to think about the boundaries in legends and history, truth and dream, and recall and the real world. Thomson (6) challenges us to think about how trauma might skew or alter our perception of what has occurred and how individual knowledge of national myths could impact how we interpret a situation that has shaped our institutional conversation on national identity in the present.
Although the Great War and the Vimy Ridge combat bolstered authority throughout the British Empire, it did not establish it. The Canadian Expeditionary Force gave rise to the Canadian Army, which was an outgrowth of Canada’s backing of England and its history. Like all BEF units, it endured significantly within the beginning stages of the war, and domestic support gradually declined, further severing the once-strong ties between Britain and Canada (Veterans Affairs Canada, 2). The Canadian Corps learned essential lessons from fighting, winning, and losing, in addition to information from the sister Army and other countries that adjusted in various manners as the years went by. They also adjusted to civilian life on the Western Front. The Corps’s uniformity, which allowed it to eventually field four divisions of Canadian soldiers under the command of Canadians, improved its capacity for cohesive training and retention of important knowledge (Humphreys 529). This was the Corps’ real strength, and it helped them win at Vimy Ridge. The formation of Vimy Ridge resulted from the troops and leaders’ months of instruction, sacrifice, and application of lessons learned.
On the other hand, Theisen, in his play, highlights the adverse nature of conflict: the brave males are dying, and creators are reacting to their fatalities, regardless of how the troops react to one another’s casualties on battlefields and in those hospitals bed, but the performers and authors choose to concentrate on the unity of the war encounters. Rather than disputing and demeaning each other, Even if it is only momentarily, they seem to find solace or hope in singing and coming closer in reaction to the trauma (Humphries 513). Although the battle came at a high cost, the conflict of Vimy Ridge was an enormous success. Almost 3,600 of the approximately 100,000 Canadians who worked experienced fatalities out of over 10,600 total deaths (Veterans Affairs Canada, 2). In Canada, a nation of fewer than eight million residents, more than 650,000 men and women might have served in the armed forces by the conclusion of World War I (Veterans Affairs Canada, 2). With over 66,000 Canadians killed along with more than 170,000 injured, the war had a devastating cost (Brennan7). The notion of how the nobleness of Canada’s pain, with Vimy Ridge as its focal point, changed the colony was a more upbeat construct in the years that followed the war,
The outcome of the war must be understandable, considering the other options. However, it distorted—and continues to distort—the truth about what occurred in April 1917 and its real importance for Canada. Although the “Vimy myth” may have been an unintentional self-deception, it has caused significant harm to the composition of Canadian military tradition (Swift 39). Specifically, the triumph of the Canadian Corps was invariably credited to Canadian excellence, and Vimy and other arena victories were frequently urged to perform “heavy lifting for national pride.” The outcome was regrettable since the majority of the narratives were more poetic than critical.
Despite their trauma, the men seem to have found solace in singing; nevertheless, there is solitude upon learning that Sid has passed away (Humphries 505). While these reactions only reflect a fraction of the many ways in which troops may respond to trauma, they also offer a different interpretation of manhood and deviate from previous standard stories that highlight soldiers’ obedient optimism (Veterans Affairs Canada, 3). the same way that Thiessen employs music to refute the idea that fighting is a heroic deed that transforms youngsters into men, he employs dance in his account of the play.
The Vimy War has several implications for future generations. The sites and memorials that have been established serve as sources of information on what happened in society. Of the memorials located abroad, the Vimy Memorial was the most extensively planned (Swift 38). Despite being built to honor a particular victory—the battle of Vimy Ridge—the sites came to represent Canada’s national identity and place in the world (Diamond 8). Diamond also indicates that the memorial’s setting, writings, and statuary all work collectively to declare that a nation—not just a colony—is here, respectfully remembering its fallen heroes (9).
The setting was especially significant for this message because the victory at Vimy Ridge, which came about despite overwhelming odds, had a profound impact on Canada’s belief in its identity as a country (Diamond 8). The Vimy Memorial’s writings and statues upheld the elegiac and peaceful voice of all the remaining monuments to memory. However, they went beyond straightforward remembrance to portray an image of victory. However, they went above and beyond mere remembrance to portray Canada as a Christian, peace-loving nation that went to war to protect the essential cause of liberty rather than for hostile purposes.
Conclusion
“Vimy Ridge gave rise to a nation (Humphreys, 527).” Although it does not correspond to the actual situation, this version of reality is not too far from reality. The truth is that Canada had been a sovereign state before. Canada was established in 1867 and quickly became a powerful, albeit small, dominion after the British North American Act was passed, establishing the new province-based federation. Even with the loose relationship with Britain, Canadians were a nation of autonomy and a voice in determining their fate. This remained unchanged in 1914 after the predetermined call to weapons. Canada chose how much of its territory to participate in the war, even though the country was de facto in conflict with Germany. The sheer number of troops sent to fight and the losses suffered by the tiny authority of eight million residents demonstrated Canadian pride in their independence and their conviction in having close ties to their king and nation.
It makes sense that myths about Vimy would start circulating with statues, literature, and the film industry praising the horrors of war. Generation X and millennials ought to pay tribute to the efforts made by their family members more than a century ago. It is understandable, then, that its tribute to the splendor and its symbolic representation of English and French Canadians are positioned side by side. Victory came out between the rest. Even though Vimy doesn’t have as much defensive or historical importance as other Canadian battles like the 1918 Hundred Days Offensive or the landings in Normandy 26 years later, it still has the hallmarks of an encounter that might be used to further nationalism.
There is no question that the Canadian Army formed an outstanding fighting force after the Great War. Nor is Vimy Ridge’s influence still on contemporary Canadian society (Thomson 7). With its origins in a noble purpose—to unite Canadians amid periods of national unrest and strife—Vimyism has a solid foundation. Every November, Canadians commemorate the conflict to reflect on a period when their country was younger, less independent, and a power losing ground to other countries. By looking at the war this way, the legends associated with Vimy Ridge offer a sense of purpose to the thousands of people who died on April 9, 1917, and to individuals who never realized the impact their self-denial would have on a nation, eternally thankful for their service.
Works Cited
Brennan, Patrick H. “Canadians and the MeMory of World War i: one hundred years on.” Comillas Journal of International Relations 2 2015: 3–16.
Diamond, Jeremy. “Vimy Ridge Monument: Part of Canadian Identity and Culture.” Canadian Issues / Thames Canadiens, Fall 2015, pp. 7–9. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=120802340&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Humphries, Mark. “War’s Long Shadow: Masculinity, Medicine, and the Gendered Politics of Trauma, 1914-1939.” Canadian Historical Review, vol. 91, no. 3, Jan. 2010, pp. 503–31. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edscal&AN=edscal.23855350&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Lermitte, Jan. “Doing the Vimy Glide: Intersections of Landscape, Art, and Memory in Vern Thiessen’s Vimy.” Caliban, no. 53, 2015, pp. 121–133, doi:10.4000/caliban.1008.
Swift, Jamie. “How the Yearning for Peace After a Trench War’s Horror Gave Way to Vapid ‘Vimyism.’” Canadian Issues / Thèmes Canadiens, Fall 2015, pp. 36–39. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=120802347&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Thomson, D. “National Sorrow, National Pride: Commemoration of War in Canada, 1918-1945.” Journal of Canadian Studies, vol. 30, no. 4, Jan. 1995, pp. 5–27. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsfra&AN=edsfra.3275942&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Canada, Veterans Affairs. “The Battle of Vimy Ridge – Veterans Affairs Canada.” The Battle of Vimy Ridge – Veterans Affairs Canada, May 18, 2022, www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/first-world-war/battle-of-vimy-ridge. Accessed January 25, 2024.
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