#anneward

[gogandmagog]

On the subject of first kisses, an excerpt from The Blythes Are Quoted by L.M. Montgomery

I’ve cut quite a lot of poor Susan out of this exchange, and I hope she will forgive me for it, but I was thinking about this little spot in TBAQ today, and began wondering… if Maud actually meant for Gilbert to be teasing Anne about Charlie Sloane (the second rather misguided fellow to propose to Anne, after Billy Andrews).

If she didn’t, and she truly meant to create a whole new branch of the Pye family (there’s no Charlie Pye in the original series, I totally checked) — well, even then, it’s still kind of even-funnier-yet to imagine that a very close relative of Josie’s (a brother?) must’ve had very friendly feelings Anneward, compared to the rest of the Pye family in its entirety (not even excepting Anthony). I actually almost prefer to think of it this way.

[budugaapologist]

moodboard for edward not getting any rest because i ship him with too many people and cannot stop.

[gogandmagog]

(@brightriverstation, I wanted to respond to this but it got way too long to try and be friends with the character limit of the tumblr comment sections 😑, so I hope you don’t mind me pulling this into a reblog.)

This is what I was supposing too! Gilbert and Anne’s financial situation aside... and understanding that they were probably doing decently well for themselves — comfortable enough to keep Susan on and maintain a large household as well as host Ladies Aide events and dinners and guests, but not so comfortable as to having Gilbert manage getting a pearl necklace that Anne wants, as in same passage of AoI, the Blythes can be cited as still waiting for their ‘ship to come in’ (though, ofc by the end of the book, this ship seems to have literally come in, in the form of a three-month steamer vacation to Europe, and a diamond anniversary pendant) — and would’ve been able to catch a good spot... Gilbert does have some sort for status for what the text calls being a ‘public man.’ One of my favourite parts of Rainbow Valley is actually that funny little bit of Miss Cornelia huffing at him for being too jokey about very serious indeed Church matters (the choir singing Polly Woolly Doodle vs hymns) because of this status. But! All things considered, and wagering that the very front pew was (in keeping with tradition) reserved for the wife and children of the Minister… I’d guess the Blythe's pew would land anywhere between the third and fifth rows? 

Elsewhere, you bring up something else that I’ve also always wondered about. Jem not being a church member. From what I understand about churches today, of various denominations, becoming a member is a kind of rite of passage for those who demonstrate a desire to participate and contribute to the church, and your status as a 'member' becomes official after you meet with church elders and leadership and attend some form of ‘classes’ (or weekly guidance counseling, or what-have-you), and ultimately have some kind of commitment ceremony or confirmation that gives way to full membership. I’m assuming there was a similar procedure in the early 1900s? Which means Jem is probably still attending church with his family on Sunday, not ‘left�� per se, just that he’s maybe somewhat less outwardly invested in his spiritual journey, in any serious or organised sort of way? And to me, I find this suits what can be deducted of Jem as a person overall, before WWI. He’s just a real audacious sort of guy, happy and fun-loving, with this kind of here-for-a-good-time-not-for-a-long-time attitude. Obviously, it was enough to earn some talk from the Four Winds folks, who worried aloud over his salvation, compared to Walter, a verified church member.

As for the ‘why’... 👀 we can only guess! And I’d love to hear your thoughts?

For me, I’ll keep beating this dead horse until it’s even more deader and deader still, but imo, Jem is everything Gilbert would’ve been without the Advent of Anne. Gilbert's Anneward hopes kept him in check, and as a byproduct, his baser impulses were curbed by his larger more wholesome desire to be worthy of her. We don’t really see that with Jem, despite (or maybe because of) his multiple romantic entanglements. So, when we consider Gilbert’s views on spirituality, and try to relate it back to Jem, we can again lean on Miss Cornelia, who gives us a huge ‘in’ to Gilbert’s open-mindedness on the subject... that this man is out here reading/supporting/lending-to-friends books that she openly calls ‘heretical’; books she couldn’t even finish because it was to her nonsense. And to be sure, it’s Cornelia we’re talking about... but for once, she isn’t actually exaggerating or necessarily wrong here. ‘Natural Law in the Spiritual World’ (mentioned by name in Anne’s House of Dreams) is a real book, written by Scottish (I see you with this, Maud) naturalist/evangelical Henry Drummond in the late 1870’s, and it was considered wildly apostate to a lot of then-contemporary religious establishments, almost to a Darwinian level. The basis of this book is essentially that science and God and nature and religion can and do coexist; that nature reflects God’s will, and that they’re all connected and not actually at odds with each other (at a time when this was a very hot topic, and the source of a lot of division in churches... science was growing by leaps and bounds at the turn of the century, and many people thought it was ungodly). But hold on because I swear I’m going somewhere with this.

Feeling that it's highly likely Gilbert (being a Doctor, with great interest in God and science) liked this book so much, that he read and absorbed the rest of Drummond’s works... we can assume even more.   

Because the rest of Drummond's other works heavily support personal relationships with God, and more than all else... love, love, love, love, kindness, kindness, kindness, and the non-judgmental supporting your fellow man, especially in times of hardship. He was staunching in the camp of patience too and condemned anger. I love Henry Drummond. Literally, here’s some of the most popular Henry Drummond quotes:   

“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.”  

― Henry Drummond  

“What makes a man a good cricketer? Practice. What makes a man a good artist, a good sculptor, a good musician? Practice. What makes a man a good linguist, a good stenographer? Practice. What makes a man a good man? Practice. Nothing else. There is nothing capricious about religion. We do not get the soul in different ways, under different laws, from those in which we get the body and the mind. If a man does not exercise his arm he develops no biceps muscle; and if a man does not exercise his soul, he acquires no muscle in his soul, no strength of character, no vigor of moral fibre, no beauty of spiritual growth. Love is not a thing of enthusiastic emotion. It is a rich, strong, manly, vigorous expression of the whole round Christian character—the Christlike nature in its fullest development. And the constituents of this great character are only to be built up by CEASELESS PRACTICE.”  

― Henry Drummond  

And if we bring all this back to Jem (especially the last citation), who is quite Gilbert-like already in manner and disposition... on top of which we add that he is also a huge nature lover, who grew up in a home with these kinds of books available to read and ponder on (for me, I even like to think that Gilbert often had open theological discourse with his children, as they got older, the same way he did with Captain Jim, and edged on doing with Cornelia)... I would suggest Jem fell more into a free-and-personal based relationship with God. Through practise, not structure. Not a wayward son, necessarily, but certainly, for me, I think of Jem as having an all-around less organised methodology to his faith. Which also kind of leans into still-heathen (to Mrs Rachel, anyway) Anne a bit, too.   

"Why must people kneel down to pray?" If I really wanted to pray I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep, woods, and I'd look up into the sky--up--up--up--into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness...”   

— Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Walter might be drawn upon here as well, but we actually have a couple hints from the text that imply to the reader that Walter is a bit of a fan of ceremony and ritual, which I think makes his relationship with God quite comfortable in the beautifully arranged ways of the church. (I bet he loved Communion.)

I am sooo 19th century churching ignorant. Every once in a while in the Anne series, all throughout the series, there’ll be these tiny mentions of certain families and ‘their’ pews in church.

But as Anne sat in the Green Gables pew, on the first Sunday after her return…

Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Or

When Billy, beaming with pride and happiness, showed his be-plumed and be-silked bride into the Harmon Andrews’ pew, Anne dropped her lids to hide her dancing eyes.

Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery

And for me, I guess I always took this as… not exactly assigned seating but definitely as people being creatures of habit and having a ‘usual’ or preferred spot at church. Then today I found out parishioners paid for designated pews back in those days (the closer to the pulpit the more expensive, the further back the less expensive; very much real estate-y class system), as means to raise income for the church.

And now I want to see a full seating chart of who-was-sitting-where both in Avonlea and in the Glen.

Just because I’m pretty much nosey.

How far up were the Blythes in Four Winds? Do you have to stick with your pew, once you’ve chosen it? Is the lease month to month? What about changes of circumstances? Was there any strategic planning in pew placement? Like was one day Susan all, “this won’t do… we have to move up two rows so Jem will stop making faces at Bertie during prayer”? What if you’re Mrs Rachel and you have ten children? Do you have to purchase two pews or is the price per family, no matter how large?

Who sat in front in Avonlea? The Barry’s?