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Evangeline: Acadian Icon

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If the heritage of Cajun people could be manifested by a single icon, its likely personification would be Evangeline, the fictional Acadian heroine of an American literature classic. Created with poetic license by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the idyllic narrative was not wholly compliant to historical accuracy yet became a widely-accepted version of factual events. His poignant epic has been translated into several languages, over 300 editions have been printed, and the tale has inspired hundreds of songs, dances, and dramatic re-enactments. Thus, public perception of Acadian history was greatly influenced by the dramatic impact of Longfellow's "Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie".

More than one and a half centuries after its original 1847 publication, the romantic story is still commemorated in the region formerly called Acadia. The University of Maine's Acadian Archives celebrated The Evangeline 150th Anniversary Project with its comprehensive series of multi-disciplinary heritage activities during 1997. Also in that year, New Brunswick's Musee Acadien coordinated an informative traveling exhibit of "Evangeline's Odyssey". In nearby Nova Scotia, the musical drama of "Evangeline: A Tale of Love in Acadia" has been a major success for over six theatrical seasons. A similar production called "Evangeline: The Musical" was recently televised by Louisiana Public Broadcasting, and stage performances are scheduled for theater audiences in the north Louisiana city of Shreveport.

The Acadian heroine is especially memorialized in south Louisiana's Cajun Country. The city of Lafayette designates honorary royalty, Queen Evangeline and King Gabriel, to reign over its annual Mardi Gras festivities. Although one of the state's parishes is named Evangeline, the legend is more closely associated with another locality: St. Martin Parish. There many visitors enjoy the impressive Acadian Memorial and the peaceful beauty of Longfellow-Evangeline Commemorative State Park. Near the old Catholic church in the city of St. Martinville are two other popular attractions which may be more myth than reality: the famous Evangeline Oak is probably the third tree to be so designated; the statue at the traditionally-accepted Tomb of Evangeline is a likeness of the Hispanic actress who played the 1929 movie role, and church records indicate that Acadian immigrants were actually buried at another site a few miles away.

Evangeline's evolution into historical legend may be traced to the poem's inspiration. Some researchers believe the tale's background came from Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of Longfellow's literary peers. Most sources indicate that Longfellow originally heard, through conversations with a Catholic priest, about a true-life married couple separated by the Acadian exile. Impressed by the young wife's courage and constancy in searching for her missing husband, Longfellow bestowed poetic justice by not inscribing her untimely death in his poem's conclusion. Other factual details of the Acadian deportation were overlooked or intertwined with romantic imagination. The dramatic story gradually took on a life of its own, with its strong symbolism rallying the unvanquished spirit of a displaced people. In the minds of many of the poem's ardent supporters, the fictional heroine metamorphosed into an authentic historical figure.

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