'Anne of Avonlea' by L.M. Montgomery

Or 'The One Where she teaches school.'

Warning: These recaps may contain spoilers, but I consider old classics fair game. This is the second fortnight of my Anne-athon re-read through the entire series.

16-year-old Anne becomes the Avonlea school mistress. She and the other local teens set up the Village Improvement Society, hoping to spruce the place up where they can. Marilla adopts young twins, Davy and Dora Keith, because when their mother dies there is no closer relative. Anne finds time to dabble in a bit of matchmaking between some of her middle-aged neighbours.

What I appreciated even more than before.

1) One specific low key, bosom buddy friendship turned out to have far stronger roots than anyone thought. It's Marilla and Mrs Rachel Lynde. When Rachel's husband dies, it looks as if she'll have to live far away with her daughter, but Marilla steps up and invites her to relocate to Green Gables instead. They know each other well enough to devise methods to withdraw when they need personal space. But Marilla says, 'I'd rather put up with far worse faults than see Rachel go away from Avonlea.' I was really cheering for the pair of them here. It might not spring to our minds, but it's a friendship that rivals Anne and Diana's. 

2) Anne's spoken goal is both modest and great; the sort of thing any of us can aspire to. She says, 'I'd like to add some beauty to life. I don't exactly want to make people know more, but I'd like to make them have a pleasanter time because of me. To have some little joy or happy thought that would never have existed if I hadn't been born.' Bravo, if she can aspire to that in her era without internet or social media, we normal dudes of the 21st century have a far broader platform to make it happen.

3) Gilbert. Whenever he did make an appearance we all appreciated it, but they were surely sparser than many of us liked. Granted he did live away from home teaching at White Sands, which would have taken up a lot of his time. That was the result of his relinquishing the Avonlea school appointment in favour of Anne at the end of the first book. 

4) Mr Harrison. James A is one this book's heroes. Plain, straight-spoken and not concerned about making impressions, he's one of those endearing grumpy old man characters we all appreciate for a good reason. Ginger, his parrot, is a great and colourful pet too, although he has his enemies. 

5) Paul Irving. This gifted kid discovers that those who don't understand his creative and imaginative bent will brush him off as crazy. He learns through experience at a young age that narrow-minded human nature is quick to criticise anything way off its radar, and when you're the target, it hurts. But although he initially wonders if he really is crazy, he decides in favour of keeping up the daydreams that bring him such joy, but being extra cautious about who he shares them with. Yay, that's a major stand for someone who isn't even in his teens yet! I've got to say, Paul's Rock People rock too.     

6) Davy Keith. I adore this little boy for speaking out all the strange, contradictory and puzzling things in the world around him which grown-ups simply expect him to swallow without blinking. He's a person to call out a sacred cow when he sees one, and I'm sure it does adults a world of good to have to consider their replies. Oh boy, I get why Marilla considers him exhausting, especially at first, but what a pay-off she gets with his fresh and original daily observations. They surely help her mind to regain its youthful suppleness. 

What I wasn't a big fan of this time round.

1) Anne's method of influencing Davy's behaviour by comparing him to Paul Irving is dodgy to say the least, but hey, it worked super effective for her! Still, I'm sure no modern parent or teacher would advise us to do the same. The use of shaming and guilt trips as a means of control may cause resentment, inferiority complexes and other hang-ups which are rarely traced back to the influencers we love and admire. Hopefully Davy dodges these these side-effects in his later years.     

2) Sadly, LMM is never an author to discourage favouritism. Anne's favourite pupil is always abundantly clear to all, but if anyone needs it spelled out, it's Paul Irving! I didn't mind that so much, because he was on her wavelength, but it irritated me a bit that both Anne and Marilla admitted to preferring Davy over Dora. As a former quiet, compliant little girl, that seems a bit rough to me. Sure, she didn't have his sanguine, left of field character, but couldn't they have loved her equally for her own attributes, such as a strong desire to please them?  

3) I really hated the Jonas Day chapter. It was so sadly out of character. Basically, Anne was in a black mood all day and took it out on everyone who happened to be in her path, which doesn't end well when you're the school teacher. I know you might be thinking, 'Everyone's entitled to a bad mood here and there, because we're only human, so cut her some slack.' It's just that being on the receiving end could be so damaging to these kids who looked up to her and didn't have the emotional interpretation skills to reason that it was her problem and not theirs. I can't help wondering if it was PMS, although in no way did LMM suggest this. Those of us who can relate know we must get a handle on it, to prevent blasting out innocent bystanders. Dare I say it, if you can't control your emotions Anne, you shouldn't be teaching school!

Some great quotes

Anne: It does people good to have to do things they don't like... in moderation.

Anne: The bad things nearly always turn out ever so much better than you think. 

Mrs Rachel: You're never safe from being surprised till you're dead.

Anne: There are so many unpleasant things in the world already that there is no use in imagining any more. 

Marilla: It seems to me Anne, that you are never going to outgrow your fashion of having your heart set on things and then crashing down into despair because you don't get them. 

Marilla: Everyone has her own way of living. I used to think there was only one right way, but since I've had you and the twins to bring up, I don't feel so sure of it.

Miss Lavendar Lewis: That's the worst, or the best, of real life, Anne. It won't let you be miserable. It keeps on trying to make you comfortable, and succeeding, even when you're determined to be unhappy and romantic. 

Stayed tuned, because next up will be Anne of the Island