Robertine Barry
Robertine Barry (26 February 1863 – 7 January 1910), pseudonym Françoise, was an early French Canadian journalist and publisher and a popular member of Montreal society. Early life Robertine Barry was born in L’Île-Verte, Lower Canada to John Edmond Barry and Aglaée Rouleau. The couple had thirteen children. John Edmond Barry eventually rose to local political prominence. Aglaée Rouleau was a native of L’Île-Verte. Barry attended elementary school in Les Escoumins from 1868 to 1873, and was a day student at the Couvent Jésus-Marie in Trois-Pistoles. From September 1880 to July 1882 she wrote for the student newspaper while at boarding school in Quebec. Barry often felt stifled by the rules of convent education and was often reprimanded for bad behavior. Barry graduated at age 20. Barry was not interested in marriage. As she explained, "I am not among those who consider marriage as the goal to which must be devoted a lifetime of noble efforts." Career Inspired by the success of French journalist Séverine, Barry set her sights on a career as a journalist. In 1891, Barry published her first pieces for La Patrie of Montreal under the pen name Françoise. The name honored Saint Francis de Sales and