"Anne with an E": Anne Shirley as a Feminist Icon
With her in it, no place is
ever boring (Montgomery, 1908). Anne Shirley, the main character of the beloved
children classic Anne of Green Gables, has been an inspiration for young
women for more than a century. The community of Avonlea admires her
determination, ambition and intelligence, which are the qualities that make her
stand out among other girls. There is strong debate on whether this book should
be categorised as ‘feminist’ or not. Anne’s independence is quite revolutionary
for that period, but she still makes some conventional choices. Although the
book is considered old-fashioned, Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables
is still a great feminist icon.
Anne Shirley is a lively redheaded orphan. The unmarried
siblings Matthew and Marilla adopt her, even though they were expecting her to
be a boy that could help Matthew on the farm. McQuillan and Pfeiffer (2001)
affirm that, throughout the novel, the reader understands that the girl’s
qualities are valuable and should be cherished, but that she is not able to
fulfil the same social roles of a boy. Although Anne never questions some
stereotypical gender norms, such as why women cannot work on a farm, she never
feels limited by her gender. Feminism is all about wanting the same
opportunities for men and women. In her essay We Should All be Feminists,
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie challenges the limits imposed to women by society,
stating: ‘We say to girls “you can have ambition, but not too much. You should
aim to be successful, but not too successful, otherwise you will threaten the
man”’ (2014, p.12). Anne is full of ambition. Her academic success is
admirable, reaching the top rank at the Queen’s College entrance exam. She
manages to be the best in her class, beating the boys and Gilbert who, instead
of being threatened by her intelligence, admires her for it. Secondly,
McQuillan and Pfeiffer question the fact that she does not consider other jobs
outside teaching (2001). Motoko Rich (2014) explains in his article that
teaching at the time was the only job in which men and women could achieve the
same rights. Anne has few job opportunities besides being a teacher, but she is
determined to become an excellent one, and she believes that teaching is her
purpose in life.
She knows that women are meant
to be more than just homemakers, asking Marilla ‘Why can’t women become
ministers? … I think women could make splendid ministers’ (Montgomery, 1908,
p.315). Anne is also a great feminist icon because she is true to herself. In
her essay A Good Little Girl, Rothman (2009) notices Anne’s
evolution throughout the novel into a ‘stereotypical female’
(p.3). Being an outsider, she strives to become like other girls in order to be
accepted. After years of making mistakes, she becomes the proper woman that
society wants her to be, and she has learned to control her temper. In the
novel, she goes from childhood to adulthood. Consequently, she changes in the
sense that she becomes more mature. Margaret Atwood, in an article she wrote
for the Guardian (2008) in honor of the centenary of the novel, states
that only Anne’s appearance really changes throughout the book. She wears
lovely dresses, she has beautiful hair and speaks more wisely, ‘… but that's
about it. As she herself says, she's still the same girl inside’ (n.p.).
Another argument against the fact that the book should be considered feminist
is its traditional ending (Rothman, 2009). After Matthew’s sudden death, Anne
gives up her scholarship in order to stay at home and help Marilla. Even in our
society, it is impossible for women to completely ignore domestic
responsibilities, and the author represents realistically the compromises that
come with adulthood. Being a feminist does not mean rejecting conventional
choices and ‘Anne even dismisses any notion that staying would be an
obligation: “There is no sacrifice!”’ (Makrancy, 2015, p.7). Family is what is
really important to her, and even though there is a ‘bend in her road’
(Montgomery, 2008, p.380), she never gives up her dreams of becoming a teacher
and a writer.
In short, Anne uses her intellect and her determination to
overcome the limits that society places on her and, at the end of the novel,
everyone in the community respects her for who she is. She is bold, determined
and makes her own choices. For this reason, she is a great example for young
girls even in modern days. There is nothing old-fashioned about her.
Commenti
Posta un commento