Love this. Anne is perfect spring-time reading. I do think the community--and the rigid rules that govern it--soften a little with exposure to Anne's free-spiritedness. Or at least she allows certain characters, over time, to understand that a rigid adherence to the rules is not the only marker of a good person.
Love your point about individualism and community. As a parent who is looking forward to the time (soon approaching) when I might be able to read Anne with my oldest, I've been thinking a lot about why this story has meant so much to me, and why I want to share it. And I think a big part of it that Anne's story is really about how a precocious child can grow into a full person, and why this really can only happen within the context of a community of care--which will constantly be pushing back against some of your flights of fancy while also still loving you precisely because of them.
There's just something incredibly powerful about that (very simple, but very profound) realization that Anne needed Matthew and Marilla exactly as much as they needed her. And, more broadly, that she needs Avonlea as much as Avonlea needs her.
Thanks for this insightful essay. A lot of classic children’s literature (Little House, Little Women, Understood Betsy, etc.) helps us see what we have gained in social mobility and freedom, and also what we have lost in a coherent, universally-understood world view. In many cases, though, the sense of community rested on a rigid demarcation between Us and Them that I don’t regret losing at all. It seems to be very hard for us to build communities that include people we perceive as different from ourselves.
Love this. Anne is perfect spring-time reading. I do think the community--and the rigid rules that govern it--soften a little with exposure to Anne's free-spiritedness. Or at least she allows certain characters, over time, to understand that a rigid adherence to the rules is not the only marker of a good person.
This is so true, Ellen—something I didn’t discuss enough was the way Avonlea’s strict rules somehow also cultivate some truly memorable personalities!
Love your point about individualism and community. As a parent who is looking forward to the time (soon approaching) when I might be able to read Anne with my oldest, I've been thinking a lot about why this story has meant so much to me, and why I want to share it. And I think a big part of it that Anne's story is really about how a precocious child can grow into a full person, and why this really can only happen within the context of a community of care--which will constantly be pushing back against some of your flights of fancy while also still loving you precisely because of them.
There's just something incredibly powerful about that (very simple, but very profound) realization that Anne needed Matthew and Marilla exactly as much as they needed her. And, more broadly, that she needs Avonlea as much as Avonlea needs her.
Thanks for this insightful essay. A lot of classic children’s literature (Little House, Little Women, Understood Betsy, etc.) helps us see what we have gained in social mobility and freedom, and also what we have lost in a coherent, universally-understood world view. In many cases, though, the sense of community rested on a rigid demarcation between Us and Them that I don’t regret losing at all. It seems to be very hard for us to build communities that include people we perceive as different from ourselves.