In her book The Second Sex (Beauvoir 1953: 362) the world-famous French philosopher and feminist Simone de Beauvoir writes that
“[t]he adolescent girl will devote a special love to Nature: still more than the adolescent boy, she worships it. Unconquered, inhuman Nature subsumes most clearly the totality of what exists. The adolescent girl has not yet acquired for her use any portion of the universal: hence it is her kingdom as a whole; when she takes possession of it, she also proudly takes possession of herself.”
The idea of nature as a safe haven and retreat where a young girl refuges to and repeatedly finds solace and empowerment also penetrates children’s literature. What Annis Pratt calls The Green-World Archetype (Pratt 1981: 16-24), “an adolescent girl who lives close to nature, is one of the most common female protagonists in children’s fiction”. (Nikolajewa 2002: 332)
Nature features prominently in the novels of the 20th century Canadian authoress Lucy Maud Montgomery best known for her classic girl’s book Anne of Green Gables. In all of her books Montgomery’s protagonists are female heroes. The heroines of her novels and short stories vary from each other in age. Out of her twenty-one books eleven focus on female protagonists in late childhood or early adolescence of about nine to approximately eleven years of age. (Epperly 1992: 7)
A prominent theme that runs through all of those novels is the development of self-confidence of the, at the outset of the story, powerless young heroine. Throughout the storylines each one of the young girls “learns to value herself in relation to the surrounding community and culture” (Epperly 1992: 7) - and nature, more precisely the fictionally adapted landscape of L.M. Montgomery’s beloved Prince Edward Island, seems to play a vital part in that process.
In her monograph The Fragrance of Sweetgrass Epperly states that in the first book of the Anne of Green Gables series “three quarters of the novel’s nature descriptions are offered as though through Anne’s eyes”. (Epperly 1992: 18) What is true for Anne of Green Gables can also be observed in Montgomery’s other children’s fictions. Throughout her books the Canadian authoress enables the reader to perceive nature through the eyes of her adolescent or child heroines; thus enabling us to detect what kind of effects the natural surroundings might have on the female protagonist’s psyche and psychological development while she is growing up.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Female Child-Heroines and the Green-World-Archetype
3. L. M. Montgomery’s Fiction and the Green-World-Archetype
4. The “queer” Orphan Girls - Empowerment in Dire Need?
4.1. “The Poetess” Emily Byrd Starr
4.2. “The Redhead” Anne Shirley
5. Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables - Empowered by Nature?
5.1. Emily the Elfkin – Nature as Emily’s True Home
5.2. Elves, Sprites and the Wind Woman – Friends and Companions
5.3. The Flash – Drawing Inspiration from Nature
5.4. Reality versus Imagination - Nature as the Last Resort
6. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper examines how the Green-World Archetype functions as a mechanism of empowerment for young female protagonists in the literature of Lucy Maud Montgomery, specifically analyzing whether nature provides a supportive tool for resilience and artistic inspiration.
- Application of the Green-World Archetype in children's literature.
- Psychological and artistic development of Emily Byrd Starr and Anne Shirley.
- The role of natural landscapes as refuges and sources of empowerment.
- Comparison between living "in" nature versus living "alongside" nature.
Excerpt from the Book
5.2. Elves, Sprites and the Wind Woman – Friends and Companions
Throughout the plot Emily anthropomorphizes aspects of nature to keep her company. In her imagination the wind is a female whom she has named the Wind Woman. To Emily’s mind “[s]he is tall and misty, with thin, grey, silky clothes blowing all about her-and wings like a bat’s-only you can see through her them and shining eyes like stars looking through her long, loose hair. She can fly”. (Montgomery 1993: 5)
For Emily the natural environment is the place where she finds her companions. Be they the wind, cats or various trees. By naming them and attributing human characteristics to them she makes them her friends. Clearly nature compensates Emily’s lack of having other children around her to play with and keep her company.
Nature does not allow her to feel lonely. Although Emily is pitied by the inhabitants of the nearby village Maywood, she is happy and feels contented in her world. The narrator immediately clarifies that Emily “didn’t know she was being pitied and didn’t know what lonesomeness meant. She had plenty of company. There was Father- and [her cats] Mike-and Saucy Sal. The Wind Woman was always around; and there were the trees-Adam-and-Eve, and the Rooster Pine, and all the friendly lady-birches.” (Montgomery 1993: 1)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter establishes the theoretical framework regarding the Green-World Archetype and introduces the focus on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s child-heroines.
2. Female Child-Heroines and the Green-World-Archetype: This section defines the archetypal role of nature as a female refuge and a means to resist patriarchal hegemony.
3. L. M. Montgomery’s Fiction and the Green-World-Archetype: The chapter explores how Montgomery was influenced by the pastoral landscape of Prince Edward Island and the American transcendentalists.
4. The “queer” Orphan Girls - Empowerment in Dire Need?: This section discusses the social isolation and need for agency in the lives of Emily Byrd Starr and Anne Shirley.
5. Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables - Empowered by Nature?: This chapter analyzes specific interactions between the protagonists and their environments, including the use of nature for companionship and inspiration.
6. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the findings, highlighting how nature serves as a tool for both Emily’s literary creativity and Anne’s need for an imaginative retreat.
Keywords
Children’s Literature, Green-World Archetype, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Empowerment, Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon, Nature, Feminism, Adolescence, Self-determination, Imagination, Transcendentalism, Prince Edward Island, Female Protagonist, Psychological Development
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this academic paper?
The paper explores the role of nature as a mechanism for empowerment for young female heroines within selected novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Which primary themes are addressed in this work?
Key themes include the Green-World Archetype, social conformity, the power of imagination, and the use of the natural environment as a psychological refuge.
What is the primary research question?
The core inquiry is whether the natural environment serves as a functional tool of empowerment, supporting the heroines in dealing with challenging life experiences.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The study uses literary analysis of character development and environmental symbolism, grounded in archetypal criticism and feminist theory.
What topics are discussed in the main section?
The main section analyzes the characters Emily Byrd Starr and Anne Shirley, specifically looking at their relationships with nature as a source of companionship, inspiration, and escape.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as Green-World Archetype, female empowerment, children's literature, and the psychological impact of natural landscapes.
In what way does Emily's relationship with nature differ from Anne's?
Emily is portrayed as part of nature, anthropomorphizing it to find companionship, whereas Anne uses nature as an imaginative retreat to cope with her reality.
How does the author evaluate the success of this "empowerment" for the characters?
The author concludes that while nature provides inspiration and sanctuary, its ability to provide empowerment is limited, especially during the characters' most traumatic moments.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Melanie Büttner (Autor:in), 2010, Empowered by Nature? The child-heroines in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novels "Emily of New Moon" and "Anne of Green Gables" and 'The Green-World Archetype', München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/162828
