The Art of Rereading Anne of Green Gables

Mr. Cliburn - I promise to read Moscow Nights in August.  First I have to finish the Anne of Green Gables series.  

I finished rereading Anne of Green Gables last night; the last time I read this book was in elementary school.  I know.  I told my Dad, the beloved Prairie Pa, I would ditch dreamy Anne Shirley to read up on the Cold War crushing pianist, Van Cliburn.  But, I couldn't stop myself from returning to Avonlea and the cozy, well-ordered life Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, created for the red-headed orphan they adopted from the asylum.  (The author's use of the word asylum bothered me, but I guess that is how it was in 1908.)  Marilla and Matthew were a brother/sister team who weren't sure how to raise an 11 year old girl. Marilla made all the decisions and Matthew kept his oars out of the water . . . or did he?  

If I had a brain, I would not have let my mom highlight my hair.  

Anne's mishaps and heartaches were both ridiculous and real.  She wanted to dye her red hair black, but instead it turned out witch-hag green.  I once tried to add bright, blonde highlights to my brown hair and turned out looking like Ray Bolger in The Wizard of Oz. Plus I, like Anne, refused to redye my hair so I would learn to be humble.  True story.  Another time Anne added liniment to a cake she was baking for the pastor's wife.  Why just last week I made beef and broccoli in the slow cooker and forgot to add the soy sauce and sesame oil. Granted, it was for my kids and not the pastor's wife, but it was a major flop.  Oh- Oh!!!  Then there was the time Anne found herself clinging to a piling, after her boat sank, while she was pretending to be dead. That reminds me of when I . . . . . actually, I've got nothing.

What surprised me was my reaction at the book's ending. (SPOILER ALERT:  Stop reading this blog if you plan on reading this amazing classic.  I figured it was okay to discuss the ending since Anne of Green Gables has been out for 100+ years.)  Matthew dies at the end of the book. He dies reading a letter informing him his bank failed and all his money was gone.  As a kid, I read a Reader's Digest type Anne of Green Gables because I vividly remember Anne finding Matthew dead under a tree.

A sure way to motivate kids to read less.  

As I was reading the chapter called "The Reaper Whose Name is Death" (How is that for subtle foreshadowing?), I started crying real tears.  The kind of tears that slip down your cheeks and you can't stop them.  The kind of tears I shed when Beth dies in Little Women.  My son, Gus, was reading next to me and noticed my tears.  He remarked, "Yeah.  If you were in school your teacher would now make you STOP reading, take out a post-it note, and jot down your feelings about Matthew dying.  Do you feel like doing that now, Mom?  Huh? Huh?"  Okay.  I refuse to jump down the rabbit hole of forcing students to stop the flow of enjoying a book to jot down some nonsense on a post-it.  Kids HATE jotting and it actually makes them want to read less, but teachers think they are monitoring comprehension.  Oops.  Again, I am not going down that rabbit hole.

Dear, dear Matthew.  I tear up just looking at this picture.   

But back to Matthew's death.  He was so sweet and good and reliable.  (How was this man single?  Did I mention he was good with tools and could probably fix things around the house?  I would have snapped him up pronto.)  

• It was Matthew who got Marilla to indulge Anne in fashionable puffed sleeves and flounces.
• It was Matthew who enjoyed listening to Anne's stories and dreams.  He was really listening and not just thinking of what to say next.
• Matthew's belief in Anne motivated her to be the top student in her class.  The reward of Matthew's sweet approval was enough motivation for Anne to study her heinie off.  

Matthew, a bachelor farmer, gave me some important parenting tips:
Listen to your children.
Believe in your children.
Indulge your children in trendy clothes.

Today is the 4th of July and the library is closed.  So, I am off to Barnes and Noble to buy the next book in the series, Anne of Avonlea.  Titter.  Titter.  I think Anne's romance with Gilbert is about to take off.

Prairie Eydie