‘Anne of the Green Gables’ stands as the most eminent work of Lucy Maud Montgomery. As the first installment in the Anne series, it plays the part of the introductory work well. We are first introduced to Anne when twins Matthew and Marilla decide to adopt a boy to help them out, only to find out that they have been matched with a young lady, instead of a young lad.
While Matthew is bewildered to find a talkative redhead, Anne refuses to suppress her spark for even a moment. The earnest looks in her eyes renders Matthew helpless who is quickly endeared by her unique worldview. Anne, who has spent childhood shifting between orphanages and foster homes, possesses a vibrant imagination and a desperate longing for someone, as much as somewhere, to call home. Despite the sibling’s initial surprise and Marilla’s practical reservations, Anne won them over with her sincerity.
“Oh, it’s delightful to think of all the things we can find out,” said Anne, her eyes shining. “It makes me feel as if I had scope for ages.”
Her dramatic reactions to the various sceneries of the fictional town of Avonlea and penchant for giving them grand names thaws Marilla’s hesitant heart and Matthew is immediately taken by her untamed spirit.
“Well now,” said Matthew, gazing at her as if he had found a new species of wild creature. “Well now.”
Anne is adamant that her name be spelled with an ‘e’ at the end, as if it was her way of telling the world not to lump with every Ann, Anna or Annie. Furthermore, her red hair didn’t exactly let her blend in with the plain crowd either. Montgomery has painted a picture most realistic in ‘Anne of the Green Gables’, with both Anne’s character and the pacing of the novel.
Anne, like other pre-pubescent girls, has complaints regarding her appearance. She despises her ginger hair and dark freckles against her pasty and pale skin. She detests her thin frame but likes her nose. Her ever-active imagination lets her go on and on about her fantasies and dreams. Despite her less than pleasant experience with foster homes, Anne’s spirits are dampened after seeing the Cuthbert sister’s initial insistence on sending her back. But with Matthew’s unwavering support for Anne, Marilla too quickly warms up to her. Anne’s imagination and her tendency to ‘yap’ brings lights to every life she touches, and the Green Gables thrive.
The book also recounts both her struggles and joys in settling into Green Gables, the only place she could ever really call home. She enrolls in the local school and aces her classes and a friendship blossom between her and her neighbour- Diana Barry, whom Anne fondly calls her ‘Bosom friend’. Eager to please Marilla and prove her capabilities, Anne sets the table for Mrs. Lynde’s visit. She wanted to serve her some of Marilla’s delectable raspberry cordial. Unbeknownst to her, Marilla also stored a bottle of currant wine beside the cordial. Since both bottles were similar in shape and color, as one can expect, Anne mistook the wine for the cordial. Wanting to share every good thing she has with new friend, Anne serves her what she thought was raspberry cordial. But was it raspberry cordial, that is the question.
“That’s awfully nice raspberry cordial, Anne,” said Diana. “I didn’t know raspberry cordial was so nice.”
Was it raspberry cordial was the question, and the answer is no. It was most certainly not raspberry cordial. It was also not currant wine if you were to ask Anne. Did Diana get drunk? Without a doubt. Did chaos ensue? Absolutely. And was it hilarious? You bet it was.
Diana, never the one to refuse a treat, readily accepted when she was offered some raspberry cordial. Anne, pleased that Diana was enjoying it so much, encouraged her to have another glass. Diana obliged, and soon she had consumed a significant amount of the potent currant wine, believing it to be a particularly strong and flavorful raspberry cordial.
“That’s awfully nice raspberry cordial, Anne,” said Diana, sipping the second glassful.”
Soon enough, the alcohol kicked in and Diana began to act in an increasingly uncharacteristic manner. Her mother, Mrs. Barry, is justifiably enraged upon seeing her daughter’s condition when she picks her up and jumps to the conclusion that Anne deliberately served alcohol to Diana. She refuses to listen to her explanation and forbids her from meeting her daughter again. Marilla too initially wants to berate Anne for this incident but eventually realizes the genuine mistake made by Anne. The fiasco not only creates a rift between Anne and Diana, but also sheds light on the former’s naivete, and Marilla’s character development as she begins to see beyond Anne’s loudness and mistakes.
While Anne’s literary ambitions take their first flight, she becomes rivals with classmate Gilbert Blythe. In her defense, he prodded and poked around a touchy subject far too long for her patience and his (not so) endearing nickname for her red hair broke the camel’s back. As did a slate over his head when he called her ‘Carrots’. Any reader who has read their fair share of rom coms, knows exactly what is going on. Gilbert evidently has a crush on Anne and hides it by making jokes about her. Their relationship develops painfully slow, as their differences remain unresolved right until the very end of the novel, when Gilbert gives up the opportunity to teach at Avonlea School after recommending Anne.
Many find the pacing of the novel incredibly slow, especially considering that a similar tempo is followed for many novels after the Green Gables. But I find it rather fitting. ‘Anne of Green Gables’ is not a novel where the leads must choose between life and death. Neither are they inextricably entangled with their past. It follows the journey of an orphan, Anne Shirley, as she settles in life at the Green Gables estate and the town of Avonlea. It is an account of the ridiculous scrapes Anne finds herself in. It is an observation of how she lives, how she breathed. How she makes friendships and breaks them, how she lays the foundation of a long and memorable life for herself and all those around her. It is the story of Anne.
Anne with an ‘e’, do take note of that.
LITERATI SXCJ 