This month, the Debs are looking at literary couples. Julie A. Sellers, author of Ann of Sunflower Lane (Meadowlark Press, 2022), joins us today to talk about a literary couple that has held a special place in her heart and her writing for many years.
Anne & Gilbert
As the author of a novel inspired by Anne of Green Gables (Ann of Sunflower Lane) and a collection of poetry entitled Kindred Verse: Poems Inspired by Anne of Green Gables, it probably comes as no surprise that one of my favorite literary couples is Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe. A quick perusal of social media will tell you that I’m not alone. So, what is about these rivals-turned-couple that continues to appeal to readers across the years?
For me, one of the best parts of Anne and Gilbert’s romance is Anne’s independence. She is not interested in Gilbert Blythe when she first meets him, and she is certainly not interested in him after he teases her and calls her “Carrots.” Anne knows she is more than her red hair—which means she also knows she is more than her own female body—and defends her honor by cracking a slate over Gilbert’s head. Physical violence aside, Anne deserves some credit for not being bullied or cowing before an impertinent boy’s gaze.
Gilbert, of course, spends the rest of the novel trying to make up for his misdeed by slipping Anne a candy heart, leaving an apple on her desk, and even coming to her rescue after the flat she is in sinks and leaves her stranded on a bridge pile. But it is only after Anne has matured through time and suffering at the loss of her adoptive father, Matthew, that she is able to forgive him. To be sure, Gilbert once again behaves as befitting only the best literary heroes by giving up his job at the Avonlea school so Anne can teach there instead, but Anne is finally able to acknowledge her grudge and admit her mistake in holding it so long.
Anne and Gilbert were the perfect literary couple for a bookish teen living in rural Kansas to adore. They showed me that smart girls should not hide their intelligence and that the boys who were worth keeping would not be intimidated by it and would own up to their mistakes.
By the end of Anne of Green Gables, Anne and Gilbert are friends. It will take another two novels for Anne to figure out she’s in love with him, and when I first read the series, I agonized throughout those next books in the fear I’d suffer another Jo and Laurie (Little Women) disappointment. Fortunately, I didn’t, and Anne and Gilbert continue to be my favorite literary couple.
Julie A. Sellers
https://julieasellers.com