Perennials Podcast Book Club

In Chapter 21 of Anne of Green Gables, Anne's school teacher leaves town (byeeeee Professor Patriarchy!) and a new minister and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Allan, arrive. Mr. Allan prays like he means it, and Mrs. Allan, who assumes the role of teacher, actually welcomes questions? Anne can't wait for the couple to visit Green Gables and is eager to bake a cake for her new kindred spirit, but she fears something is going to go wrong. (Spoiler alert...something does.)

In today's reflections, I think about the importance of asking questions and holding authority figures accountable; how silence on the part of people like Marilla upholds the status quo; and how Anne can inspire us to be not only better individuals, but better citizens of the world. 

Chapter reading: 0:14 - 17:18

Reflections on the chapter: 17:22 - 32:56

Original air date: June 21, 2020

In Chapter 22 of Anne of Green Gables, Anne gets invited out to tea with her favorite Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Allan. From the moment of the invitation, Anne basically turns into Kristen Wiig as Sue on SNL - a sundae of excitement with a big ol' dollop of hot anxiety melted on top. 

Will the tea get rained out? Will Anne commit some majorly embarrassing social faux pas? And will Marilla ever let her cold dusty heart crack open a little bit and just feel excited for Anne?

In Chapter 23, Anne goes to a party at Diana's house, and the girls start daring each other. Anne pricks Josie Pye's pride, and Josie in return dares Anne to walk the ridgepole of Mr. Barry's kitchen roof. Of course, Anne can't turn down the dare. Will she make it across the roof? Will she take a hard fall? Will Josie have to live the rest of her life with a dark stain upon her soul?

In Chapter 24, Anne returns to school amidst the glory of October, and her dreams come true when Miss Stacy announces the students will be putting on a Christmas concert. Unfortunately, gross beauty standards rear their ugly heads once again. As usual, Anne finds a listening ear in Matthew when Marilla has no patience for her raptures. 

 

This chapter leaves us with some questions: who gets to decide what a fairy queen looks like? Will Anne's imagination get big enough to free her from damaging societal messages about beauty? And while Matthew's loving acceptance of Anne is beautiful, is it fair for him to leave all of the disciplining to Marilla?

In Chapter 25 of Anne of Green Gables, Matthew wakes up and decides to do something special for Anne, even if it means going outside of his comfort zone and leaving Marilla out of it. Will Marilla allow Anne to keep Matthew's Christmas gift? Will Anne have the nerve to get up onstage at the school concert and deliver her recitation? And what can we learn about giving and receiving from this special chapter?

In Chapter 26, Anne turns thirteen years old and officially enters her teen years. She wonders whether she has any hope of growing up to be "perfect" like the minister's wife, and resolves not to engage in any more "uncharitable speech." Meanwhile, Diana wishes to be better at making up stories, and Anne creates a Story Club to help her friends cultivate their imaginations.

Things to reflect on in this chapter:

• Learning from Anne's hope that we can all grow and change, while also learning to be present and grateful for where we are today.
• Thinking about the Story Club as a creative, loving way to connect with people - as opposed to "hot wiring" connection (Brene Brown's words!) through the destructive force of gossip.

In Chapter 27 of Anne of Green Gables, Marilla comes home expecting to find Anne stoking the fire and preparing supper, but Anne is nowhere to be found. Marilla eventually finds her cowering in her bedroom, covering her face and asking Marilla not to look at her - which is kid language for "I did something bad."

What did Anne do to her head? How was a peddler involved in the debacle? And will Marilla ever give her the benefit of the doubt before jumping to the worst conclusions?

In Chapter 28 of Anne of Green Gables, Anne and her friends decide to act out Tennyson's poem "Lancelot and Elaine" by having Anne, portraying the dead Elaine, float across the pond and under the bridge to the waiting Lancelot (Diana) and Guinevere (Jane) in Camelot. Unfortunately for Anne, her funeral vessel springs a leak, and she finds herself alone in the middle of the water on a sinking flat. Will God answer Anne's prayers to float her close enough to a bridge pile for her to scramble out? Will anyone come to Anne's rescue? And will this be the end of Anne's romantic dreaming once and for all?

In Chapter 29 of Anne of Green Gables, Anne and Diana are invited to visit Aunt Josephine's house in the city. Anne is ecstatic to accept the invitation, and finds herself encountering things she has only dreamed about before: silk curtains, spare rooms, horse races and ice cream enjoyed at nearly midnight. Yet Anne finds that everything she has dreamed of isn't exactly what she thought it would be. What moment of the trip does Anne enjoy most? Does Anne consider herself a city girl or a country girl? And might Anne shift something in the heart of an old selfish woman before she returns to Avonlea? 

As we enter the last ten chapters of Anne of Green Gables, I decided to invite some friends to join in the reflection portions of these episodes.

Ruth Macallan joins me today to talk about Chapter 29 and share her beautiful, wise thoughts about Anne's imagination, her maturity, and the fact that Anne "isn't striving for perfect, she's just striving for life"

In Chapter 30 of Anne of Green Gables, Anne joins Miss. Stacy's class of students who are studying to take the Entrance exams for Queen's College, and Anne reaches a turning point in her growing up - her last summer as a little girl. She starts to learn about the ambition and plans of her classmates, and Miss. Stacy encourages the teenage girls to think seriously about forming good habits to solidify their character. 

My cousin and former Perennials guest Olivia Arnold joins me for reflections today, to talk about expectations and conditioning for girls and women, the in-betweenness of being almost 14, and why Moody Spurgeon wins the award today for "Most Relatable Cringe Moment."