Review: Anne of Green Gables
By Wendel Schwab
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery is one of the books that I always knew about, but never read. In a way I'm disappointed that it took me so long to finally read this delightful and engaging book, but I'm also glad that I got to enjoy the pleasure of reading all about Anne for the first time. Much like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne of Green Gables can easily be enjoyed by adults as well as children.
The story opens to Matthew Cuthbert, an old bachelor, setting of to the train station. A nosey neighbour, Mrs. Rachel Lynde stops by Green Gables to find out why he's made this rare and unexpected trip. Marilla Cuthbert, Matthew's sister and aging bachelorette, explains to the town busybody that Matthew has gone to fetch a twelve year old orphan boy they have adopted to help Matthew with the chores around the farm. However, when Matthew returns, everyone is surprised to find that a mix-up at the orphanage has resulted in a girl with fiery red hair, and an overactive imagination! The rest of this beautiful story follows that orphan, Anne, and her trials and triumphs. She remains always optimistic, even in the face of grief and self sacrifice.
Throughout the book, Anne encounters people she considers "kindred spirits," such as Diana, Marilla, and Matthew. They are her confidants and friends, people she has a profound effect on, and who affect her in return. She even has a bitter enemy and rival named Gilbert Blythe, or, as Anne calls him "Gil— the boys at school."
This is one of the finest works in Canadian literature. L. M. Montgomery presents us with rich, full characters, scenes of the beauty of nature, and the charm and beauty of Prince Edward Island, and a wonderful look at life in rural Canada during the 1800s. It's quite easy to almost imagine you're there in that place, with those characters.
The characters in this book are rich and ever changing, they seem to be portraits of real people. Anne begins the tale as a precocious and imaginative young girl, she talk everybody's ears right off and then some, often employing a far larger vocabulary than a girl of twelve should be using. As the story progresses, she becomes a mature young woman who has reigned in much of her more extreme qualities. She's still the imaginative dreamer, but her head is no longer floating in the clouds when she needs to attend to more pressing matters. She still enjoys talking, but she no longer rambles on endlessly and in such great detail. She knows the large words as she's very intelligent, but she no longer feels the need to flaunt them. Why waste your breath with big words when little words will do?
Likewise, the supporting characters go through just as much change as our heroine. Marilla goes from a cold emotionally restrained woman to a warm and loving motherly figure. Matthew goes from being eternally shy to... Well, he is still the same shy old Matthew, but he does learn to assert himself, and he sometimes overcomes his fear of women to get what he believes Anne deserves.
If someone in P.E.I.'s tourist industry was smart, they'd adapt the descriptions of P.E.I. in Anne for every tourist brochure they produce. Anne soon comes to the conclusion, and it is well supported by ample description, that the Island is the most beautiful place on Earth. Nearly every chapter opens with a description of the season and it's affect of the natural world. Not only does this help establish the time and place of each part of the story, it reinforces the majesty and beauty of the natural world that Anne has been mistakenly thrust into. Descriptions of nature have been a staple of Canadian literature since it's genesis, and L.M. Montgomery is up to the task of continuing this literary tradition.
But, the overriding theme of "Anne of Green Gables" isn't it's natural descriptions. From the very beginning this is a story of a remarkable character who goes through life changing experiences, even if those experiences seem to be mundane at the surface, such as a church picnic, they mold and change Anne's character, and the characters of those around her.
Anne of Green Gables well deserves its reputation as a classic literary work. Nlot only is it beautifully written, it is also uplifting and inspiring.
