International scholarship published recently on L.M. Montgomery focuses on complexities of gender, translation, and adaptation.
Preamble
In an article published a year ago, I highlighted fourteen items of international scholarship on L.M. Montgomery that had appeared since 2019 in German, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. I also included English-language abstracts so that English-speaking readers could appreciate the kind of work that had appeared over the last few years in languages besides English.
As part of the overhaul to this website’s bibliography that I finished last summer, I made an effort to track down items that had appeared in venues located outside North America. I wanted to gain a better sense of what the international conversation about L.M. Montgomery’s life, work, and legacy has sounded like over the last five years or so. In the end, I had a list of items from scholars who are located in nineteen countries: Australia, China, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Many of these contributions have to do with translation, including an examination of how restrictive ideas about target audience appear to guide translators’ choices. A surprising number of contributions focus on the most recent television adaptation of that work, the world-wide fan favourite Anne with an “E” (2017–2019). And while some of these items return to familiar territory—Anne of Green Gables as a coming-of-age text, intertextuality and allusion, education, acts of reading and writing, and Montgomery in conversation with Louisa May Alcott (Little Women) and Eleanor H. Porter (Pollyanna)—they all approach these aspects of Montgomery’s work through a contemporary, multinational critical lens.
What this shows, of course, is that the conversation about L.M. Montgomery’s life, work, and legacy continues to expand and evolve. And given that tomorrow is the 150th anniversary of Montgomery’s birth, this wide range of recent contributions to the field of L.M. Montgomery studies is a sure sign that this conversation will continue to grow in the years to come.
Australia
“Just like a Man!”: A Project Continuing L.M. Montgomery’s Subtle Gender Activism Through the Arts
Author: Merri Bell
Publication Details: Social Alternatives 42, no. 1 (April 2023): 46–54. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.181566951157342.
Abstract: There is a long history of utilising various facets of the arts in peace activism. Writing in Canada at the fin de siecle, author L.M. Montgomery’s work contains numerous examples of her gender activism with her creation of peaceful societies for her female protagonists. As this was a time when women were not free to openly express dissatisfaction with their role in society, the arts were a method by which they could subtly share their views. While several authors consider Montgomery’s subversive views on gender, few authors involve arts practice as part of their research. This paper will investigate Montgomery’s building of strong, supportive female communities in her Anne series of novels. I will continue the culture of utilising creative arts to explore these gender dynamics by using an arts-based methodology to identify themes in Montgomery’s work, resulting in a new musical composition that articulates the gender struggle. This work exemplifies how responding to gender dynamics through art continues, well beyond Montgomery’s era, to provide a peaceful form of gender-based activism.
“After All the Years of Separation”: Musically Representing Author L.M. Montgomery’s Suspended Romances
Author: Merri Bell
Publication Details: In “Music and the Written Word,” edited by Gillian Dooley. Special issue, Humanities 13, no. 4 (2024), article 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/h13040104.
Abstract: Canadian author L.M. Montgomery did not set out to write stories about romance. As she indicated in her journals, she wrote character-driven stories of young girls navigating their way through girlhood. However, she understood that the public, and her publishers, expected these girls to experience romance that culminated in marriage, following the societal traditions of the time. Montgomery managed this dichotomy by having many characters experience a suspended romance, delaying the romantic aspect of the relationship for as long as possible. Arts-based practice is a mode of analysis and offers the opportunity to find a new way of understanding and communicating Montgomery’s type of suspended romance. Music is, in many ways, considered romantic, so it is an appropriate medium to communicate Montgomery’s romantic narrative structures. This paper investigates Montgomery’s use of suspended romance in her novels and how this delay provided her characters with time to develop other areas of their lives. An arts-based methodology was used to identify and analyse recurring themes in Montgomery’s work, as the question is not can Montgomery’s theme of romance be musically represented but how. The result of this creative experimentation is a new musical composition that articulates these suspended romances using six different musical devices. This creative work exemplifies the intertextual link that exists between Montgomery’s work and new musical compositions.
China
A Healing Journey of Anne from Trauma in Anne of Green Gables
Author: Qin Jiaqi
Publication Details: Academic Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 7, no. 5 (2024): 58–64. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2024.070511.
Abstract: As a prolific writer in Canada, Montgomery has created more than twenty novels among which her first novel Anne of Green Gables is the most popular one. The heroine of the novel is an orphaned girl named Anne Shirley with freckles and red hair. The novel narrates Anne’s upbringing from the age of eleven to seventeen. Anne had led a miserable life before coming to Green Gables, which made her traumatized. Thus, this essay arranges from the perspective of trauma theory to analyse Anne’s course of life. According to the usual logic of trauma theory, this essay begins with Anne’s traumatic symptoms, and then finds out what factors related to Anne’s trauma. The final part is also the key of the essay which dissects Anne’s healing process from her trauma. On the one hand, applying trauma theory into Anne’s growing experiences can open a new view for readers to reevaluate Anne. On the other hand, readers can get some illumination through Anne’s experiences and arouse their awareness to get rid of their trauma in the daily lives.
Finland
Girls’ Classics and Constraints in Translation: A Case Study of Purifying Adaptation in the Swedish Translation of L.M. Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon
Author: Laura Leden
Publication Details: Barnboken: Journal of Children’s Literature Research 42 (2019). https://doi.org/10.14811/clr.v42i0.377.
Abstract: This case study discusses constraints related to the image of girlhood and gender roles evident in the abridged and adapted Swedish translation of L.M. Montgomery’s girls’ classic Emily of New Moon published in 1955by Gleerups. The 1950s are called the golden age of girls’ books in Sweden because their publication peaked during this period. However, the popularity of girls’ books during the 1950s did not correlate with high status. Adaptation of translations was common, which indicates the low status of the genre. The Swedish translation of Emily of New Moon was adapted for a younger target audience than Montgomery’s original, and abridged to a lower page count required by the publisher series in which the book was included. The publisher imposed didactic constraints on the book, and these constraints are a sign of conservative and protective strategies and authoritarian attitudes. The adaptation reflects what kind of books the publisher wanted to present to girls, and largely involves purification of unconventional behavior and sexuality. This was consistent with didactic translation norms, reflected in the origin of girls’ books in educational literature. The translation presents a clear, unambiguous and conventional model for the appropriate behavior of girls, and female characters represent more restrictive gender roles than in the original.
Germany
From Green Gables to Grönkulla: The Metamorphoses of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables in Its Various Swedish Translations
Author: Cornelia Rémi
Publication Details: Barnboken: Journal of Children’s Literature Research 42 (2019). https://doi.org/10.14811/clr.v42i0.447.
Abstract: This paper examines Swedish translations of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (1908), a novel that has maintained the status of a children’s classic in the Scandinavian countries for more than a century. I explore the background conditions of this long-lasting reception by analyzing significant differences between source and target text within this series of translations. All the translations have been adapted to the context of their target culture in general and shaped to address an audience of young female readers in particular. Many of the interventions correspond to general patterns in translations for children and reflect contemporary assumptions about the needs of young readers: they emphasize domestication over foreignization and add clarifying comments and explanations to cultural elements unfamiliar to Swedish readers. Some minor inconsistencies point to turbulences within the translation process and highlight the low esteem for children’s fiction within the literary system. Other, more consistent changes can be attributed to programmatic decisions that affect the very premises of Anne of Green Gables. The handling of intertextual references and some major abridgements reveal a tendency to disambiguate the protagonist’s cross-over status between girlhood and adulthood, and clarify her often blurry position between the realms of imagination and reality. This results in the seemingly paradoxical result that the success of Anne of Green Gables in Sweden is founded on decisions that have narrowed down its literary scope.
India
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery as a Coming-of-Age Novel
Authors: Benasir Banu M.S. and Evangeline Priscilla B.
Publication Details: World Journal of English Language 13, no. 8 (2023): 275–80. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v13n8p275.
Abstract: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery is a Canadian Classic children’s fiction published in 1908. It revolves around an eleven-year-old orphan girl named Anne Shirley who is vibrant, witty, has a vivid imagination and a positive outlook on life. This coming-of-age story begins as Anne Shirley arrives at the Green Gables house on Prince Edward Island, Canada, to assist the upper-middle-aged siblings Marilla and Gilbert Cuthbert on their farm. The Cuthbert siblings were disappointed to see a girl as they were expecting to foster a boy to assist with the field labor. Anne Shirley landed in Green Gables as a mishap but won everyone over time with her spirited personality and charming nature. In the predominant literary narrative, children’s literature is under-represented and forgotten as childhood, after all is seen as a state from which we grow away. But children’s literature provokes an intense response and engagement amongst its readers through its congruence. A coming-of-age story in children’s literature focuses on the psychological and moral growth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood and confounds the audience to experience the surrounding of the protagonist to impact the readers’ thoughts and attain self-growth. In light of the above information, this paper aims to substantiate Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery as a coming-of-age novel to understand the impact that children’s literature has on its audience through various elements such as culture, identity, positivity, friendship, love, growth, and imagination.
Indonesia
Anne Shirley’s Character Development and Its Causes as Seen in Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Authors: Fatimah Salsabila Az-Zahra and Nur Saktiningrum
Publication Details: Lexicon 6, no. 2 (2019): 119–32. https://doi.org/10.22146/lexicon.v6i2.53146.
Abstract: This research discusses the character development of Anne Shirley, the main character of the novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The objective of the research is to understand the character development of Anne Shirley and also examines the factors that cause development. The analysis is conducted by using the objective approach by M.H. Abrams because the approach is suitable to analyze character, characterization, and character development. The result of this research shows that the character of Anne Shirley is developed from a loveless girl to a mature teenager. Her character development is caused by two factors, internal factor which is her own motivation and external factors which come from the people around her and new environment.
Translation of the Word “Do” in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Novel Anne of Avonlea from English into Indonesian
Authors: Gema Ariani Rahmawati and Indah Lestari
Publication Details: International Journal of English and Applied Linguistics 3, no. 2 (August 2023): 119–27. https://doi.org/10.47709/ijeal.v3i2.2575.
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to find out the translation of the word ‘do’ from English into Indonesian and also its function. This research focuses on the translation of the word ‘do’ in an English novel entitled Anne of Avonlea and its translation in Indonesian. The researcher uses mixed method namely qualitative and quantitative method. To collect the data, purposefully random sampling is used. The 150 difficult data were purposefully chosen, which then the researcher chose 75 random data to be analyzed. To analyze the data, the researcher uses strategies of translation by Chesterman (2016) and principles of translation by Duff (1990). The result of this research shows that there are a lot of forms and functions of ‘do’ that makes the translation of the word ‘do’ various. There are 7 out of 30 strategies found, namely literal translation (7), unit shift (7), transposition (25), emphasis change (16), cohesion change (16), scheme change (3), and synonymy (1). Lastly, there are 2 out of 6 principles of translation found, namely meaning (6 strategies) and style & clarity (1 strategy). Thus, it can be seen that the most used strategy and principle of translation in translating the word ‘do’ are transposition and meaning.
Translation Techniques of Modality Metaphor in Novel Anne of Green Gables
Authors: Yurike Suhertian Poyungi, M.R. Nababan, and Riyadi Santosa
Publication Details: Lensa: Kajian Kebahasaan, Kesusastraan, dan Budaya 11, no. 1 (January–June 2021): 68–79. https://doi.org/10.26714/lensa.11.1.2021.68-79.
Abstract: This is a descriptive qualitative research that aims to analyze the types of modality metaphor and their translation techniques in the novel entitled Anne of Green Gables. It is a translation research using Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) approach. Data were collected by content analysis and focus group discussion (FGD). The data were analyzed by Spradely’s data analysis method. The content analysis is used to analyze the types of modality metaphor based on Halliday and Matthiessen’ theory. Furthermore, the translation technique is analyzed by Molina and Albir’s classification and is done by focus group discussion. The result of this research shows that there are two types of modality metaphor found in the novel, they are probability and obligation. Moreover, the translation techniques that used to translate the modality metaphor are established equivalence, compensation, paraphrase, modulation, deletion, discursive creation and implicitation. The use of these translation techniques shows the translator creativity to translate the modality metaphor.
Iran
A Kristevan Reading of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon
Authors: Neda Rahimi Rad and Fatemeh Pourjafari
Publication Details: Journal of New Trends in English Language Learning 2, no. 3 (Autumn 2023): 79–88. https://doi.org/10.30495/jntell.2023.702875.
Abstract: This research aims to explore and examine Julia Kristeva’s theory of the semiotic and symbolic dimensions of language on L.M. Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon. In this novel Montgomery portrays the life of a young girl, Emily, who is in the middle of fight to gain self-realization. Kristeva suggests that the part of consciousness repressed by the process of the formation of the self through language—the symbolic—retains its own language—the semiotic—which cannot be entirely annihilated by our birth into the symbolic, and instead erupts into our controlled communication as unruly and uncontrolled expression. Emily has talent in writing and owns great imagination, which she uses as rebellion against the hardships of her life and by the interaction between father’s realm of language and calmness and unity of mother’s territory, her identity is in process. This research interprets Emily’s shift from outer objective world to the inner reflective essence as a defense mechanism, through Kristeva’s dichotomous concept of language.
Israel
Self-Bibliotherapy: Writing and Identity Consolidation Processes in “Emily of New Moon” by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Author: Bella Sagi
Publication Details: Journal of Poetry Therapy 37, no. 3 (September 2024): 163–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/08893675.2023.2237197.
Abstract: This paper addresses the role of personal writing in processes involving writing, processing loss and grief, and identity consolidation, employed in shaping the character of Emily Starr in the book “Emily of New Moon” by Lucy Maud Montgomery, well known for her series “Anne of Green Gables” and for the character of Anne Shirley. Emily, who is dealing with orphanhood following the childhood loss of both parents in a short span of time, uses writing to vent her feelings when in distress and as a way of maintaining contact with her father who died, by writing to him. Later on, the possibility of renewing her emotional connection with her mother through an encounter with the room where she grew up and by writing to her, removes Emily from her state of existential loneliness and brings her closer to her true self, manifested in the creative and spontaneous elements within her.
Italy
From Green Gables to Red Hair: The Italian Translations of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables
Author: Valeria Illuminati
Publication Details: Ticontre: Teoria Testo Traduzione 14 (2020). https://doi.org/10.15168/t3.v0i14.426.
Abstract: Shortly after its publication in 1908, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables was an international bestseller and soon became a classic of children’s literature. The Italian translation and reception reveal however a different picture and the circumstances of its cultural transfer questions the criteria of selection used to identify classics. By looking at the evolution of the Italian reception of L.M. Montgomery’s novel, the study highlights how it acquired its “classic” status in Italy and also reveals how commercial success and popularity may influence the cultural transfer and transmission of a literary work, shaping its perception and identity in the new context. Existing Italian translation from 1980 onwards are presented in their editorial context, so as to underline the crucial role of publishers in the “making of a classic.” In order to further highlight the key role of editorial strategies in the classicizing process of Montgomery’s novel in Italy, two peritextual spaces in translated texts are closely examined: series and titles. The publication in series of children’s classics granted the novel its classic status, resulting in a lasting and stable presence on the market. The choice of a popular and familiar title for the Italian translation, allowing an immediate and positive identification with the animated television series, further contributed to its endurance. Evolving from her popular television beginnings to an acclaimed classic heroine, for her Italian readers Anne Shirley is simply “Anne of Red Hair.”
Anne of Green Gables: Female Portraits of Childhoods in the Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Coming-of-Age Novels
Author: Maria Teresa Trisciuzzi
Publication Details: Women and Education 1, no. 1 (2023): 23–29. https://doi.org/10.7346/-we-I-01-23_05.
Abstract: In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Children’s literature is represented by stories of brave orphans who had faced difficult and unfortunate lives with determination. For Anne Shirley, a little girl without a family, the same path occurs: the search for, construction and rebirth of the family are the main themes around which Lucy Maud Montgomery’s coming-of-age novels are based (Moretti, 1986; Morgenstern, 1994; Meek, Watson, 2003; Papini, Fioretti, Spignoli, 2007; Bernardi, 2011; Cambi, 2011; Calabrese, 2013; Trisciuzzi, 2014). Being part of a family, feeling ‘at home’ (Beseghi, 1995; Cantatore, 2013, 2015; Vitta, 2008; Trisciuzzi, 2018; Zago, Callegari, Campagnaro, 2019), appears to be the highest need and the centre of the plot itself, a story full of poetry, dreams, desires and joy that the little girl conveys to those around her, inside the pages of the novel, and to those who read her adventures, outside the book. Anne firmly assumes her role as a resilient orphan girl on a quest for a family nest (Trisciuzzi, 2018), a role she assumes and holds tightly in several books. Anne is an orphan girl who victoriously fights the orphan stereotype (Faeti, 2010, 2013). If her female colleagues are whiny or sad or perpetually in a state of crisis, she is an absolute vitalist. Anne savours every moment of existence, using all her senses and faculties to participate fully in this world and to derive joy, substance, light and colour from it. The female figures in Montgomery’s novels, while representing the female condition of the time, make an original journey of growth through an innovative educational experience that reaches the present day.
Malaysia
Educating Effervescent Women Scientists Through Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables
Authors: Seng Tong Chong, Ng Yu Jin, J Karthikeyan, Zalina Mohd Kasim, and Lee Su Yee
Publication Details: Journal of Techno-Social 13, no. 1 (2021): 37–43. https://doi.org/10.30880/jts.2021.13.01.005.
Abstract: The series Anne of the Green Gables is sequential children books that focus on Anne Shirley, the story’s protagonist. The series of books explore Anne’s life from a girl to a charming pretty young lady. In the story, Anne is portrayed as an inquisitive young girl. She explores her life philosophically. She also explores many aspects of nature and its relation to science. Her inquisitiveness is extremely sharp, that the skill helps her in learning the science of everyday life. The paper discusses Anne of the Green Gables’ use in educating female students to enjoy STEM education. At present, the proportion of women engineers in Malaysia is disproportionate, and the Ministry of Education is working on inculcating female students’ effervescence in STEM subjects. The methodological framework utilised in this study adhered to the approach of the phenomenological case study’s paradigm. Interviews were conducted,and qualitative data were gathered and analysed using Atlas.ti, a qualitative data analysis software. The findings indicated that female students could draw links between themselves and Anne, the protagonist in the novels. The protagonist’s various occupational explorations helped female students understand that they can excel in STEM and arouse their interests to become scientists or engineers. In conclusion, the use of literary texts written by female authors such as Anne of Green Gables could draw attention from female students towards STEM. This study fills the gap in the existing literature where no scholars have used the classic Anne of Green Gables to illicit interests among young female students.
Note: While four of the five authors of this article are located in Malaysia, J Karthikeyan is located in India.
New Zealand
Enraptured by This Glorious Media Landscape: Anne with an E and Cross-Platform Coproduction
Author: Will Stanford Abbiss
Publication Details: In “Cultural Diversity in Internationally Coproduced High-End Drama,” edited by Trisha Dunleavy and Elke Weissmann. Special issue, Critical Studies in Television 18, no. 2 (June 2023): 148–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020221122197.
Abstract: This article examines the CBC/Netflix coproduction Anne with an E (2017–19), a leading example of cross-platform coproduction whose legacy is disrupted by the drama’s unexpected cancellation. Theories of cultural and media imperialism are discussed to contextualise this circumstance, along with an overview of the Canadian media policy context. The relationship between the CBC’s public service model and Netflix’s subscription service is considered, followed by an analysis of the increased cultural representation of the drama, which incorporates Black, queer and Indigenous identities. The article concludes by suggesting what Anne with an E’s cancellation may mean for the future of cross-platform coproductions.
Pakistan
A Critical Study of Topographies and Thematic Concerns in Alcott’s Little Women and Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables
Authors: Farkhanda Shahid Khan, Saeeda Nazir, and Zareen Sahar
Publication Details: Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review 7, no. 3 (July–September 2023): 975–82. https://ojs.plhr.org.pk/journal/article/view/804.
Abstract: This study aims to highlight topographies and thematic concerns of Young Adult literature – Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1871) and Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (1908) fulfilling social responsibility while exploring into its origin as a literary genre. For this, the article argues that Young Adult fiction through the topographies, settings, stylistic concerns, and thematic constructions thoughtfully fulfil the overarching idea of social responsibility of bringing reforms in a society. Berman’s scholarship on Social Responsibility, Nodding’s views on Caring, and Greene’s idea of Social Imagination, Social Problems, and Social Justice serve as a theoretical lens to analyse the novels. The article concludes that the selected classics of the genre assume the social responsibility to educate Young Adults through their subtle storyline, plot, and thematic constructions, as highlighted by the given theorists.
Poland
The Green Gables Utopia: On the Novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Author: Piotr Oczko
Publication Details: Wielogłos 41 (2019): 35–46. https://doi.org/10.4467/2084395XWI.19.017.11458.
Abstract: This paper deals with the issue of “utopianism” in L.M. Montgomery’s novel Anne of Green Gables (1908), a book which has been translated into Polish many times and has been shaping the worldview and mentality of Polish female readers for over a century. This utopianism is here presented in three separate approaches. Firstly, the study investigates the “translatological utopianism” of the first translation of the novel (by R. Bernstein, published in 1911), which, as a result of the linguistic and stylistic decisions of the translator, has been significantly naturalised and domesticised, as well as adapted to the multiple (genological, social, and cultural) expectations and conceptions of the Polish implied audience. Secondly, attention was drawn to the fact that Avonlea as presented in the novel is a kind of social “matriarchal utopia”, emphasising the issues of women’s solidarity, responsibility, and education, at the same time strongly referring to the Arcadian trend in utopian literature. Thirdly, it was suggested that in Moira Walley-Beckett’s film adaptation Anne of Green Gables (Anne with an E, 2017–2018), the reading “between the lines” of Montgomery’s novel and the application of the hermeneutics of suspicion by the screenwriter made the idyllic utopia of the original resemble a dystopia.
Sophisticating the Image of Avonlea in the Earliest Polish Translation of Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Author: Beata Piecychna
Publication Details: Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 30, no. 2 (2022): 209–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2021.1900882.
Abstract: The main aim of this study is to examine how Avonlea, the setting of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, located on the northern part of Canada’s Prince Edward Island, was depicted in the novel’s earliest Polish translation (1911). Particular emphasis will be placed on the image of the Avonlea community as (re)shaped and contoured by Rozalia Bernsteinowa, the Polish translator. The analysis, using the Hallidayan model of discourse as well as House’s notion of register, shows that in the earliest Polish translation, Avonlea and the protagonists living in the fictional town were portrayed as having achieved a high level of sophistication in many ways, which is reflected, inter alia, in the area of realogisms and within the sphere of register. Analysis of the translated image of Avonlea suggests that the translator’s approach was highly influenced by the historical context within which she was embedded and by her sentiment of nationalism and elitism as influenced by the political situation of her country.
The Images of Female Writers in the “Emily” and “Anne” Series by L.M. Montgomery
Author: Kateryna Nikolenko
Publication Details: Scientific Journal of Polonia University 60, no. 5 (2023): 97–106. https://doi.org/10.23856/6011.
Abstract: While the Künstlerroman may well be considered one of the genres that have blossomed most prominently in the 20th century English-Canadian literature, research investigating its poetics has remained on the fringes of literary scholarship. This paper examines L.M. Montgomery’s sophisticated use of the Künstlerinroman through her portraits of female writers in the Emily and Anne series. My goal is to explore how Montgomery’s heroines choose to narrate themselves and the world around them, how they transcend difficulties and assert their own unique perspectives. Therefore, this paper examines not only the socio-cultural environment which served as background for the creation of literature, but also the writer’s reflections regarding the process of bringing said literature into the world. Drawing on the scholarship of J. Buckley, R. Seret, E. Varsamopoulou, F. Hammill, K. Macfarlane, G.A. Guth and others, this paper aims to analyze L.M. Montgomery’s “sophisticated handling of genre” (E.R. Epperly) in greater depth and place her portraits of the female artists within a broader cultural and literary context. The question of female subjectivity, which concerns women’s perceptions of their own writing (and their fate as artists), is central to my research.
Forms of Intertext in “Anne of Green Gables” by L.M. Montgomery
Author: Olha Nikolenko
Publication Details: Scientific Journal of Polonia University 60, no. 5 (2023): 107–16. https://doi.org/10.23856/6012.
Abstract: This paper analyzes different forms of intertext (biblical, artistic, and mythological) in L.M. Montgomery’s bestselling novel Anne of Green Gables in order to determine the novel’s intertextual connections with various phenomena of literature and art, and explore how the meanings of these intertextual elements are transformed in Anne of Green Gables as opposed to their original sources. While the plot of Anne Shirley’s growing up unravels locally (in a small Canadian town named Avonlea), it is also part of a broader cultural context, which is represented largely by intertextual means (direct and indirect quotations, allusions to the works by R. Browning, H.C. Andersen, W. Shakespeare, L. Carroll, W. Scott et al.). In this way, the author emphasizes Anne’s romantic worldview, her open-mindedness and vivid interest in literature, art and nature. By referencing the works of W. Shakespeare and S.T. Coleridge, L.M. Montgomery aims to further illustrate the motive of loneliness and abandonment as they are related to her heroine’s story (having lost her parents and spent the majority of her life in an orphan asylum). Biblical intertext also plays an important role when it comes to the relationship between Anne Shirley and Matthew Cuthbert. Different forms of intertext (literary, biblical, mythological) fulfil important functions in the text, especially in terms of creating multi-faceted characters, the social and cultural atmosphere of L.M. Montgomery’s era, and the various problems (social, moral, and artistic) discussed in her works.
Romania
Again but Better: The Representation of the Canadian Identity in the 2017 Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables
Author: Mirela Antonoici
Publication Details: Message, Sages, and Ages 10, no. 1 (2023): 26–28. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8300823.
Abstract: Since intersemiotic translation continues to maintain its popularity even among the younger generation, this paper examines the way in which Canadian identity is portrayed in the most recent film adaptation of the beloved piece of children’s literature, Anne of Green Gables. The female lead, Anne Shirley, a representation of Canadian culture and a feminist icon, will be examined in order to highlight her reinterpretation from the perspective of a 21st century movie director. Furthermore, the comparative overview of the differences that occur between the two forms of storytelling will establish the way in which a successful film adaptation has to take in consideration the needs and expectations of the target audience.
Spain
The Family, the School, and the Community in a Rural Area: From Montgomery’s Novel to the Mills’ Picture Book—A Secondary Publication
Author: Maria Victoria Guadamillas Gómez
Publication Details: Education Reform and Development 6, no. 2 (2024): 12–21. https://doi.org/10.26689/erd.v6i2.6508.
Abstract: This paper explores the intertextuality between The Rag Coat (1991) and Anne of the Green Gables (1908). Both literary works are contextualized in the North American rural community, and their main characters are girls in their early adolescence who have tenacious personality traits. The rural communities where these works are set, far from being an intimidating motif, make these protagonists show their determination to overcome what might be expected from them in these settings. Both sociohistorical contexts create rural micro-bubbles that, as it is studied, are composed of the family, the school, or the neighborhood. Furthermore, some other common themes are observed in both works such as children’s work, or nature’s personification. It does not seem to be a coincidence that Mills illustrated one of the editions of Anne of the Green Gables in 1989. However, the studies that have put both works in connection are practically non-existent. Thus, this paper tries to approach both authors and the possible autobiographical features in their works. Later, it inquires into some coincidences between both female protagonists as well as into the importance that family, neighbors, school, and nature acquire in the rural contexts where they are set.
Sweden
“Don’t Be Too Upset with Your Unchivalrous Publisher”: Translator–Publisher Interactions in the Swedish Translations of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne and Emily Books
Publication Details: Barnboken: Journal of Children’s Literature Research 42 (2019). https://doi.org/10.14811/clr.v42i0.449.
Abstract: This article explores the translation practices of the Swedish translations of Canadian writer L.M. Montgomery’s Anne and Emily books from a sociological perspective. By studying the interactions between the different agents involved in the making of the translations, in this case the translators and the publishers, the study adds to previous research on the Swedish translations conducted by Laura Leden and Cornelia Rémi. Through an extensive archival material from Montgomery’s first Swedish publishing house C.W.K. Gleerups, the study uncovers and discusses which norms the translators and publishers worked by, as well as the publishers’ role in the translation process and how the publishers’ profile and praxis affected the translations. The analysis demonstrates that the publishers’ were highly engaged in the translation processes and that their ideas and instructions played an important part in shaping the books’ content and making them part of the children’s canon in Sweden. For instance, it was the publisher and a publishing house board member – not the translator – who came up with the iconic book title Anne på Grönkulla (Anne of Green Gables). The publishers primarily steered the translators in matters that concerned the salability of the novels – the length and the titles of the books – but also on a more detailed level. This close cooperation points to the fact that it sometimes is relevant to refer to the publisher as a co-translator. In line with current research within the field of sociology of translation, the study thus concludes that the process of translating Montgomery’s Anne and Emily books into Swedish should be seen as a collective act.
“You’re a Woman Now”: Depiction of First Menstruation in Movies and TV Series
Author: Anna Metreveli
Publication Details: Journal of Language and Sexuality 12, no. 2 (July 2023): 258–83. https://doi.org/10.1075/jls.00027.met.
Abstract: This paper analyses menarche episodes from TV series using the discourse-historical approach to compare how menarche has been depicted on TV during different decades and takes a closer look into inter-generational experience of menarche. The analysis focuses on membership categorization analysis of the scenes and dialogues involving menarche. After analyzing several decades of menstrual discourse, it is possible to conclude that TV discourse has changed from depicting menarche as a shameful taboo to a powerful visual storyline statement. However, the menarche scenarios did not change dramatically and continue to rely heavily on a mother-daughter bonding plot and highlight childbearing as the main and sometimes the only positive aspect of menstruation. The continuous use of menstruational euphemisms is still predominating the TV discourse.
Re-creating (Hi)stories: Social and Cultural Empowerment
Author: Anette Svensson
Publication Details: In “Culture on the Move,” edited by Ylva Lindberg, Anna Wärnsby, Anna Nordenstam, and Magnus Persson. Special issue, Educare 1 (2024): 163–91. https://doi.org/10.24834/educare.2024.1.863.
Abstract: In response to the challenge to educate democratic citizens and prepare them for life in a global and digital world, a teaching design that focuses on stories that re-claim a place in the literary tradition for groups of people who have been marginalised or silenced in literary classics has been developed and implemented in the upper secondary EFL classroom. The aim of this article is to analyse essays where upper secondary school students compare Anne of Green Gables to Anne with an E in order to discuss how transmedia storytelling can function as social and cultural empowerment and encourage global and critical awareness. The method is design-based research, and the data consist of 89 comparative essays that have been thematically analysed, resulting in four themes: altered mood, altered characters, added characters, and the function and effect of transmedia storytelling. The results show that the students focus on new themes and characters, which are easier to relate to. By comparing the source text to the makeover, they notice that Anne with an E sheds light on aspects which are missing in Anne of Green Gables. As they compare, they question the historical accuracy of both the source text and the makeover, thus demonstrating critical awareness.
Turkey
Questioning If the Literary Narrative and Real-Life Stories Overlap with Today’s Realities: The Example of “Anne with an E” TV Serial
Authors: Nilüfer Pembecioğlu and Nebahat Akgün Çomak
Publication Details: European Journal of Social Sciences Studies 9, no. 1 (2023): 181–215. https://doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v9i1.1544.
Abstract: In this study, there are three key topics are explored and discussed. It is first and foremost vital to examine whether the series in question is appropriate for viewers who are older than eight years old. In the second evaluation, it is examined whether contemporary realities and literary narratives have any overlap. This implies that issues related to history, society, psychology, and modernity are approached from a fresh angle. Last but not least, it has to do with the potential social effects of adjusting historical tales to the present. This entails reassessing the past or historical narratives from the viewpoint of the present. However, the key inquiry is: How closely does a film’s core meaning align with the meaning that is revealed after seeing it? What about a movie’s relevance alters when it’s watched again after some time? This study addresses the film-audience connection in two separate ways under the category of “meaning.” The relationship between the meaning that viewers derive from the movie’s content while watching it is the main topic of discussion. The second is the text’s complementary meaning as revealed by its social, psychological, or historical elements.
Ukraine
Narrative Aspects of the Novels of Lucy Maud Montgomery and Eleanor Porter
Authors: Lidiia Matsevko-Bekerska, Olha Nikolenko, Roksoliana Kokhan, and Kateryna Nikolenko
Publication Details: Arab World English Journal for Translation and Literary Studies 6, no. 1 (February 2022): 53–66. https://doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol6no1.5.
Abstract: The metamodernist mood of the modern era increasingly clearly correlates with the transformation of literary methodologies and methods of reading, analysis, and interpretation of literary texts. The study of the genre specificity of the novel is one of the essential segments of the latest scientific studies, given its flexibility and significant textual representation in various national works of literature. This paper offers a critical review of the key stages in the history of the study of the novel as a literary genre, as well as shows the possibilities of understanding the poetic aspects of the author’s style. The material of the research relies on the novels by the Canadian writer Lucy Maud Montgomery and the US writer Eleanor Porter. Both authors belonged to the same historical and cultural era; their work has many typological parallels due to objective factors. At the same time, the modernist worldview was embodied in each stylistic manner in its own way. Comparison of individual styles makes it possible to carry out a typological analysis within a particular genre with access to the study of common sources of image creation, as well as modeling the interpretive paradigm of metamodernism in the projection on the literature of different historical periods taking into account national characteristics. At the same time, the research opens up the prospect of expanding the methodological horizons of narratology for its progress beyond its “boundaries”: outside of literary studies, in a significant context, as well as in space outside of fiction.
United Kingdom
“A Faint Whiff of Cigar”: The Literary Tourist’s Experience of Visiting Writers’ Homes
Author: Nicola MacLeod
Publication Details: Current Issues in Tourism 24, no. 9 (2021): 1211–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1765996.
Abstract: Places associated with authors and their literary creations are popular attractions and amongst the most compelling of these literary tourism sites are writers’ homes where visitors can gain personal insights into their favourite artists. However, there are few studies on the experience of literary tourists in these settings and this paper addresses this gap by analysing 1200 TripAdvisor reviews of four well-known English and American literary homes using Leximancer software which uses a quantitative approach to carry out qualitative analysis of text. The conceptual framework of the genius loci was used to inform this analysis of the literary visitor experience. The findings revealed that for these literary visitors, the domestic setting was the most important aspect of the visit, coupled with the knowledge gained and the experience of being in proximity to the creative process itself. Further thematic analysis also revealed that visitors were keen to seek out authentic, personal objects and sensed the presence of the deceased author within the house. The article concludes that the notion of the genius loci – the presiding spirit of place – is a useful way of conceptualizing the literary visitor’s experience of author’s homes and informing their presentation and management as visitor attractions.
Girlhood in Verses: The Role of Poetry in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon and Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X
Author: Yan Du
Publication Details: Barnboken: Journal of Children’s Literature Research 45 (2022). https://doi.org/10.14811/clr.v45.689.
Abstract: Few creative protagonists in girls’ coming-of-age fiction, especially those authored by women, have escaped the lure of poetry writing. And yet from introspective diarists to fervent letter-writers to passionate storytellers, what seems less visible in current scholarly conversation on girls’ literature are discussions surrounding girls as aspiring poets. My article considers representations of poetry writing in two landmark texts by women, Emily of New Moon (1923) by Lucy Maud Montgomery and The Poet X (2018) by Elizabeth Acevedo, paying special attention to how poetry writing serves particular purposes for the characters as they search for means of self-representation and self-expression to resist practices that undermine their voice. Despite being published in significantly different time periods, Montgomery’s and Acevedo’s works cross paths in terms of how they represent the power of poetry writing for adolescent girl protagonists: poetry operates as a means of negotiating conflicted identities or subjectivities, reconstructing their own notions of time, and performing their bodies. Whilst this article attempts to sketch a tentative case for the usefulness of poetry in girls’ texts then and now, it concludes with suggestions for future research that might shed more light on the continual appeal of poetry in narratives of girlhood.