Why the World Still Needs Anne of Green Gables

Perhaps Twilight readers (which is more of you than will admit) will agree that one redeeming characteristic of Bella Swan is her love of classic literature, particularly Anne of Green Gables. Unfortunately, beyond this passing interest – which gets totally obliterated in the films – Bella and the writing of Stephanie Meyer resemble L.M. Montgomery's book and heroine in no way whatsoever. Anne is independent; Bella is infatuated. Anne has goals beyond marriage; Bella marries early. Anne ages; Bella does not. I was reminded of this disjunction when I saw the Google Doodle celebrating L. M. Montgomery’s 141^st birthday of Anne and Diana drawing in a meadow. Not a meadow where a lovesick girl makes out with a vampire, but one where young girls form profound friendships. Despite being over 100 years old, Anne of Green Gables is more relevant and important than Twilight to readers today because its characters solve real life issues with intelligent thought and a touch of feminism, which Meyer totally abandons for traditional tropes in a fictional world.

Montgomery’s leading heroine, Anne Shirley, is a passionate young orphan who, upon finding a nurturing home, blossoms into an ambitious young woman not afraid to speak her mind. She is the smartest in her class and has plans for the future: to go to college, to be a teacher, to be a writer. Unlike Bella Swan, who particularly in the Twilight films is essentially characterless, Anne is exuberant, embraces life, and makes goals for herself beyond marrying at the age of 18 to stay young forever with a vampire. Rather than trying to abandon her problems by becoming a beautiful, invincible vampire (which obviously fixes everything) like Bella, Anne displays bravery and tenacity by facing her problems in the real world, with the power of her own imagination. She doesn’t use a man as an escape; if she needs an escape, the scope of her own mind provides it. While perhaps Bella inherits Anne’s stubbornness, she uses it to assert her dependence, not independence as Anne does, which shows Meyer’s misunderstanding and corruption of her own inspiration.

Montgomery also skillfully deconstructs Romance while still being romantic. Anne’s ideal of a dark-eyed, melancholy man is debunked when she realizes she really is in love with her best friend, Gilbert Blythe. Meyer directly contradicts this by having Bella abandon the best friend (Jacob) in favor of the ideal (Edward). Additionally, Montgomery does not limit Anne’s life by her choice to be with Gilbert, unlike Meyer whose heroine must abandon her family and friends (which is only avoided because she has special resistant powers to cravings) and literally die to be with the man she loves. After Anne and Gilbert profess their feelings for each other, Gilbert heads off to medical school for three years and in the next book, Anne of Windy Poplars, we hardly even see him! Rather, we spend the whole novel with Anne as she writes letters to him about her new job. Her new JOB. Anne is able to receive the affections of the man she loves AND go on to another new independent adventure, without being creepily hovered over by vampires or wolves. Bella, meanwhile, only receives vague notions of freedom because Edward’s mind is blocked from seeing her thoughts. Yet this, and not Anne and Gil, is the romance that intrigues young readers today.

The real power behind Anne is that she is always herself, no matter where she goes. Green Gables, Avonlea, the Island, Windy Poplars, House O’ Dreams, or Ingleside, she is always Anne. And she is always human, in a world of humans. She doesn’t have to become a vampire to feel more like herself. She doesn’t have to change herself to be with the man she loves. She doesn’t have to be dishonest with her parent figures about her life choices. She doesn’t have to save the world; she just has to live in it and change it in very small but profound, everyday ways. She just has to be human: flawed but funny, wistful but wise, imaginative and intelligent. Hopefully the Google Doodle implies that, over a hundred years later, we still want girls to grow up to be this kind of woman, not a vampire.