Cléante Desgraves Valcin (January 13, 1891 – January 26, 1956) is a Haitian feminist activist and writer. A founding member of the Ligue Féminine d'Action Sociale (The Feminine League of Social Action), she is credited with having published the first novel written by a Haitian woman, Cruelle Destinée, in 1929.
Personal life
Cléante Desgraves was born on January 13, 1891, in Port-au-Prince to Hector Desgraves, a Haitian pharmacist and pianist, and Alice Cunningham, an American citizen. Throughout her childhood, she attended a girl's boarding school in Port-au-Prince which was directed by the teacher, writer, and poet Virginie Sampeur. Cléante was a teacher until her marriage in 1917 to Virgile Valcin (born 1885) who owned a government-affiliated printing press. A year later, in 1918, her first child, Charles Valcin (1918-1997) was born. She also had a daughter, Yolande, born in 1922.
Career
Activism, Political, and Professional Engagement
Valcin worked in her father's pharmacy during her early life. However, her adult life mostly consisted of authorship and advocacy work. Her first published work, a selection of poems entitled Fleurs et Pleurs published in 1924, marks the beginning of her writing career, intersecting with her time as part of the Ligue Féminine d'Action Sociale, a feminist group in Haiti focused on women's rights. In 1935 Valcin co-founded the feminist journal Voix des femmes (Voice of women). The journal was also the voice of La Ligue Féminine d’Action Sociale, the first feminist organization of Haiti.
Valcin represented Haiti at a number of international congresses and was considered a champion of women's rights. Valcin was president of the Ligue Féminine d'Action Sociale at the time of her death. Throughout her life, Valcin put her skills to work for the feminist cause and wrote many features in the book Femmes Haïtiennes (Haitian Women), which was published by the Ligue Féminine d’Action Sociale in 1953. Additionally, in 1955, she represented the Haitian government in Puerto Rico for the 10th Assembly of Women and acted as the chair for her delegation.
Literary
Cruelle Destinée
Valcin's first novel, Cruelle Destinée (1929), tells the story of a family torn apart by bankruptcy, illness, and shame. The ensuing romantic saga deals with the tension between love and immorality in the context of Haitian high society.
The novel begins with a letter explaining the reasons for Julien Rougerot's recent disappearance. The missing man exposes the secrets of his bankruptcy to Junie Rougerot, his pregnant wife, and their two daughters, Madeleine and Jane. Distraught at Julien Rougerot's sudden departure and the severity of his debt, the Rougerots reach a state of emotional volatility that causes them to cry, shout, and even pass out. Their suddenly dismal financial outlooks drive the Rougerots to sell all of their possessions and retreat to a country house owned by their kind neighbors, the Dubourgs. Although the Dubourgs opened their home and their pockets to the Rougerots, when Madame Dubourg dies of a sudden illness, the bereaved Monsieur Dubourg resolves to leave Haiti. To give her the means to provide for herself, he arranges an opportunity for Junie to run a shop, and she begins to work there to pay off the debts accrued by her husband.
On Christmas Day, Junie gives birth to a baby boy, Armand, and, a few months later, becomes pregnant out of wedlock and gives birth to a baby girl, who, aside from the placeholder “Bébé,” is never named. A stroke of misery coupled with physical illness weakens Junie, whose declining business has made it difficult to provide for herself and the two little ones. Madeleine and Jane return from boarding school with a letter from their father, who announces that his business efforts abroad had been successful and that he can finally return to his family. By the time he returns, Junie's newborn child, born out of wedlock, has disappeared, and illness has taken Junie's life. Though the couple never reunite, Julien is determined to make up for lost time and provide for Madeleine, Jane, and Armand.