I've been having some thoughts after finishing 7 of the Anne of Green Gables book series, that, we will eventually forget our childhood excitement. That we will become tired and hardly ever feel excited about everything anymore. Here's a good comic about what I'm writing about.
Anne starts the book with so much joy and excitement towards life, she is innocent, she has an amazing imagination, great friends and she is a big-hearted person. She cares so much about people around her, the trees, the animals, the littlest things. Those are the things that make me adore Anne so much.
After more than 20 years (I only read 3 books when I was in school), I decided to reread these series and finally finish them up so I listened to her story throughout July.
Afterward in the series: she went to school, she graduated, she became a teacher, she got married, she became a mother, she had many children, then WW1 happened, her children were big enough to get listed to the war and throughout the war, there were many sadness and war anxieties, later there was grief. Anne wasn't the same jolly kid she was, she grew up and grew old. In Rilla of the Ingleside (the last book in the series), Anne & Gilbert were hardly there, or mostly just in the background. I'm a bit surprised by how seemingly abruptly their life stories ended. Where was dear Marilla? Where was Diana? I need closure.
Anne is one of my favorite characters. What happened to her in the end? Did she die old and content among her family and friends? Did they get over the grief? I felt like it wasn't fair, life isn't fair. She had so much hopes for life and I wanted her to be happy in the end.
But, that was written around 100 years back and nothing could ever be changed now, can it? What can I expect from the war? It was such a terrible time and it was fairly expected. Nothing good can come out of such sadness.
**Books in the series (based on the publication order)
- Anne of Green Gables (pub. April 1908) - finished
- Anne of Avonlea (pub. August 1909) - finished
- Anne of the Island (pub. July 1915) - finished
- Anne's House of Dreams (pub. August 1917) - finished
- Rainbow Valley (pub. August 1919) - finished
- Rilla of Ingleside (pub. autumn 1921) - finished
- Anne of Windy Poplars (pub. August 1936) - currently reading
- Anne of Ingleside (pub. July 1939) - can't find yet
Short stories/poems compiled (about residents of Avonlea) :
- Chronicle of Avonlea (pub. 1912) - finished
- Further Chronicles of Avonlea (pub. 1920) - finished
- The Blythes Are Quoted (pub. 2009) - can't find yet
I wish we had more.
I know WW1 was a terrible time and L M Montgomery was writing during such a difficult phase in the 1900s. Imagine having to write something so hopeful and innocent in the early years and slowly turning into something darker and sad over time. The writer went thru WW1, battled depression, survived 'The Spanish Flu', and didn't even see the end of WW2.
... I have lost my mind by spells and I do not dare think what I may do in those spells. May God forgive me and I hope everyone else will forgive me even if they cannot understand. My position is too awful to endure and nobody realizes it. What an end to a life in which I tried always to do my best."
😢
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Side note :
So as a mother, I feel like I need to freeze these childhood moments. We decided to record and compile them in videos, so we can see them again and again, especially when things are tough and we forget these little things that make us happy or excited. Eventually, all these little memories that we are creating for Sofi will be gone or forgotten, she wouldn't remember them when she is all grown up.
This is where we keep our videos - her first Ikea trip, her first Kidzoona, her first Aquaria, her first dinosaur park, etc. I love sharing these videos with my family especially. You have no idea how many times I've rewatched these videos myself. I'm that kind of mother, I love to rewatch Sofi's videos like any normal mother would. Even my mom loves to rewatch Sofi's videos over and over again when I share them on our family Whatsapp.
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