A Tribute to All Things Anne-ish

 Anne has as many shades as a rainbow and every shade is the prettiest while it lasts.

For Hamlette's Soliloquy's "We Love L. M. Montgomery Week"

Kindest Greetings of Welcome, Dear Kindred Spirits!

This week, we are celebrating the greatest author of all time, L. M. Montgomery. I am eternally grateful to her for giving us a certain red-headed, be-freckled heroine called Anne not to mention Green Gables and all connected thereunto. And so this week, I celebrate one of the most beloved characters in literature and personally, my favorite of all, created by our own beloved Montgomery. While Montgomery created countless beautiful, delightful character, Anne towers above all the rest. Immortally. And so, in honor of L. M. Montgomery, I offer this tribute, in honor of Anne Shirley. That's Anne spelt with an "E". 

I think the reason we love Anne is because she's so much like every one of us. She's like the secret, beautiful inside of us that we're afraid to show. And she inspires us, because she is not afraid to show it. Her imagination, the joy and beauty she finds in life, all the simple little pleasures she enjoys, all those living-in-the-moment experiences... Anne has taught me so much about just... living life. 

"Dear old world," she murmured. "You are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you."

I can't remember the moment I met Anne and all those who make up her world. They've just always been a part of my world. And I can't imagine being without them. I'm glad I don't know a time when I wasn't kindred spirits with all those of that magical place Avonlea... comfortable, homey Marilla; shy, sweet Matthew; gossipy and good-hearted Rachel Lynde; friendly and loyal Diana; and of course, Gilbert. Who is perfect in every way. 

I mean it when I say that the very words "Avonlea, Prince Edward Island" hold magic. And all who truly love Anne and her story... true kindred spirits... understand what I mean. It's a beautiful world of lacey dresses and puffed sleeves, of tea parties and one-room schoolhouses, of old-timey kitchens and plum puffs, of truly chivalrous suitors and vintage wedding dresses, of apple blossoms and Lakes of Shining Waters, of red, red roads and the spray of the ocean crashing up against the shoreline. Avonlea is our home away from home. And it's lovely to know at any time we can open up a book and be there again. 

"It's lovely to be going home and know it's home!"

One of the best things about Anne is that she, unlike many literary heroines, is not immune to mistakes. Mind the time she died her hair?? And of course, there was the liniment cake, the mouse drowned in the plum pudding, jumping on Great Aunt Josephine, falling of the ridgepole of Moody Spurgeon's kitchen roof.... not to forget the famous slate scene and accidentally getting poor Diana drunk! Or, of course, Dolly the cow and the mad chase through the muddy potato field... we all have our favorite Anne incidents! Just as long as we always remember...

"Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it."

The Anne story wouldn't be even half of what it is without our beloved Gilbert. A more perfect man is scarcely to be imagined than the curly-haired, hazel-eyed, roguish schoolboy who we first saw pulling our heroine's hair and calling her "Carrots".

He loved Anne from the beginning, in spite of all her faults and her obvious disdain of him. They were soulmates, and that was that. It's hard to believe that it took her so many years to realize it. Just think of all the times he showed his love in so many little ways. The friendly rivalry all through school... his encouragement at the White Sands concert... the way he gave up the Avonlea school for her so she could stay at Green Gables... 

But in the end, true love conquered all and resulted in the most beautiful of relationships I've ever seen. I fully believe that Anne and Gilbert are one of the few in literature who really found the true meaning of love. 

“Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music, perhaps . . . perhaps . . . love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath.”

Through Anne and Gilbert, L. M. Montgomery showed us what true love looks like.

The kind of love that will sacrifice for you

The kind of love that allows for good-natured bantering... because who wants a melancholy hero??

The kind of love that will pick you up out of the mud... literally

The kind of love that will give you advice, even when it makes you mad... and ultimately inspire you to do great things

The kind of love that you can just be yourself with!

"There will never be anyone for me but you."

 Who can help but love Marilla? The prickly, stiff old spinster that showed herself to have the kindest and most loving of hearts after all. When she took a lonely and love-starved little girl into her heart and home, they both changed and the most beautiful kind of friendship came out of it... the friendship of kindred spirits. Marilla was there with Anne every step of the way... supporting her, encouraging her, loving her. 

"It's never been easy for me to say the things from my heart, but you're like my own flesh and blood."

And then, of course, there is Matthew. A man of few words, who says so little and at the same time, says so much. He never makes an impact on the world... few people notice that he is alive in it. But he means everything to Anne. He is her rock... her quiet, steady source of love and encouragement. He is so proud of her and the knowledge that he is gives Anne wings. 

"I never wanted a boy. I only wanted you from the first day. Don't ever change. I love my little girl. I'm so proud of my little girl."

"I can't help wishing that she'd stayed a little girl."

"Mrs. Spencer made a lucky mistake, I guess."

"It wasn't luck; it was Providence. He knew we needed her."

Diana... the perfect friend. What would the Anne stories be without Diana? She was the friend Anne always wanted... the bosom friend, the first kindred spirit. The ever-supportive, faithful companion, close as a sister. Even if she did drink three tumblerfuls of red currant wine, send "Averil's Atonement" to the Rollings Reliable Baking Powder Company and marry roly-poly Fred Wright. 

"True friends are always together in spirit."

We must never forget Rachel Lynde. For she, like Katharine (with a K) Brooke, is really a kindred spirit under all her prickles. She may be "fat and ugly and a sour old gossip", but never let it be said that she didn't stick up staunchly for Anne when she needed it. A dear, soft old heart after all. And let us never forget her timeless little bits of wisdom, like...

"You're never safe from surprises till you're dead!"

I could go on for pages. Maybe even fill a book. Just think, for instance, of that wonderful ability of Montgomery to make us laugh! Countless times while reading Anne books, I've had to lay it aside while I laugh myself to tears.

"Life is worth living as long as there's a laugh in it."

But as surely as she can make us laugh, she can make us cry. And that is the mark of a truly great author. One who can make you laugh and cry... Sometimes at the same time.

"But really. One can't stay sad very long in such an interesting world, can one?"

And while I'm afraid I do not have the time to adequately discuss each one, I can't help but mention all the other kindred spirits in Anne's world.

Miss Stacey, who inspired me to become a teacher.

I believe the best teacher serves as a guide.

Aunt Josephine, yet another beautiful kindred spirit, under a grim and crochety exterior.

I like people who make me like them. Saves me so much trouble forcing myself to like them!

Katherine Brooke, who became a dear friend after months of self-deceiving rivalry.

Rebecca Dew, the epitome of capability and common sense.

Miss Cornelia, who always has and always will hate men.

Captain Jim, one of the kindest and most good-hearted souls the world has ever known.

And dozens of others... Philippa, Little Elizabeth, Aunt Kate and Aunt Chatty, Ruby Gillis, Jane Andrews, Priscilla, Davy and Dora... And so on and so forth.

And we can never forget Jem, Nan, Di, Walter, Shirley, and Rilla, Anne and Gilbert's precious and yet mischievous children.

Anne was never afraid to follow her dreams, despite what stood in the way. And she faced all the normal, human problems of life, same as we all do. She grew up. She worked her way through college. She made friends. She won hearts. She fell in love... she got married... she had children. She laughed and cried and worked and prayed. She experienced all the little joys and trials and sorrows and struggles and beauties of life. And through it all, she never really changed. She was always the same Anne that we know and love. As she said herself, "I'm not a bit changed--not really. I'm only just pruned down and branched out. The real ME--back here--is just the same.”

"I'll always be your Anne. Anne of Green Gables."

Oh, the pages I could fill with all things Anne-ish! Of the characters who are as real to me as life itself... Of the places I've lived in, in spirit, but never seen... Of all the beauty of days gone by... Of all the dreams Anne inspired me to dream!

But alas! I must end here for now. Methinks I must begin a series on all things Anne-ish (don't you just love that phrase??) Let me conclude for now by saying a sincere and hearty thank you to the woman who created the world of Anne. I never met you, Montgomery, but your books shaped my life. The immortal stories therein continue to inspire and motivate me... To dream, to work, to love. 

And now I must say,

Till Next Time, dear Kindreds!!

Juliette 

“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”