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320 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 1909
“Really, Barbara”, she said icily, “if you cannot move without falling over something you’d better remain in your seat. It is positively disgraceful for a girl your age to be so awkward.”What the hell? Does that sound like the Anne of the first book to you? What has gone wrong here? And I understand that Montgomery wanted to show how Anne struggles to find her footing as a teacher but I genuinely think that her character changed so much that she is barely recognisable. Her actions and words simply don't ring true. I also hated the whole ordeal with Anthony, a boy in her class who kept disrespecting her. Anne tried reasoning with him but at the end, the one thing that wins Anthony over is when she beats him like his dad used to, even though in the beginning she vowed to never whip any children. It's bonkers. Her weird obsession with Paul is also uncomfortable to read about from a modern perspective. Like, we get it, you see yourself in him, but chill, girl. Montgomery describes Paul as follows: "There is nothing weak or girlish about him in spite of his dreams and fancies. He is very manly and can hold his own in all games." Okay, thanks, I hate it here.
She had a sudden realisation that Gilbert was a schoolboy no longer. And how many he looked—the tall, frank-faced fellow, with the clear, straightforward eyes and the broad shoulders. Anne thought Gilbert was a very handsome lad, even though he didn't look at all like her ideal man.So far ... so good? I mean, it's pretty standard romance, I guess, but I can live with that. Gilbert is a MANLY MAN (...good for him?) but not Anne's type (we all know she's kidding herself but whatever). What I have more of a problem with is how Gilbert views Anne:
In Gilbert's eyes Anne's greatest charm was the fact that she never stooped to the petty practices of so many of the Avonlea girls -- the small jealousies, the little deceits and rivalries, the palpable bids for favor. Anne held herself apart from all this, not consciously or of design, but simply because anything of the sort was utterly foreign to her transparent, impulsive nature, crystal clear in its motives and aspirations.It's giving: SHE'S NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS. And there's nothing I hate more than that trope. Get the fuck outta here. Anne is NOT special, no matter how hard Montgomery wants to drive the point home that Anne is a special snowflake who is superior to other girls, I assure you, SHE IS NOT.
For a moment Anne's heart fluttered queerly and for the first time her eyes faltered under Gilbert's gaze and a rosy flush stained the paleness of her face. It was as if a veil that had hung before her inner consciousness had been lifted, giving to her view a revelation of unsuspected feelings and realities. 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.Excuse me while I scream in a corner but this shit is PERFECT. Call me a hopeless romantic but I love everything about this scene. Montgomery found the exact right words here!