Hi there! It's Alyianna again with my second and last guest post - on Gilbert Blythe. I hope you all like it. I decided to concentrate on the Gilbert side that wanted to be with Anne...which, of course, meant I had to have some Anne Shirley in this post, too.
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Well, the elegant and illustrious Miss Shirley. Relaxed while seeking out ideas for her next Rollings Reliable writing assignment, I presume.
He loved Anne Blythe from the very beginning, when she was not interested in him in the least.
Unfortunately, he didn't get off to a good start with Anne, calling her by the most detestable nickname to her ears...
Psst! Carrots! Carrots!
After that, Anne ignored him in a very crushing way. Even when Gilbert finally won Anne's friendship, he did not win her love.
Have you ever felt sorry for a person in a movie, who had to wait the whole movie to win another's love? That's what Gilbert had to face.
You just think that you love me.
Anne, I've loved you as long as I can remember. I need you.
~ ~ ~
Anne, there's not going to be any wedding anymore.
You're gonna get well, Gil. I know you are.
I called it off. It wouldn't be fair to Christine.
There would never be anyone for me but you.
It'll be three years before I finish medical school. Even then there won't be any diamond sunbursts or marble halls.
You know, every day I would pick a different memory of you and play it over and over and over again in my mind, until every hair, every freckle, every part of you was exactly as I remembered.
I've loved you ever since the day you broke your slate over my head.
I am participating Period Drama Week at Elegance of Fashion you no doubt all know. :)
One of the things we could do was a Period Drama Advice Column, similar to the Jane Austen one I did here (to wet your interest...it's John Brooke asking, responded to by Mr. Collins and Lydia Wickham :). Read all about this "assignment" here. Oh, and stop by here to play an awesome trivia game! I enjoyed it, and I think you will too. :) Anyway, here we go on the Period Drama Advice Column!
Dear Period Drama Advice Column, Oh, I am crying a vale of tears! How am I to survive? It was like this, you see. I, not so very long ago, borrowed Marilla's brooch. Marilla is sometimes hard to be friends with, and she's almost like a mother. And the brooch! Oh my dear reader, it was beautiful! Marilla says it's amethyst and worth a great deal. Purple and sparkling and so beautiful. I did nothing with it but hold it up to myself, just to see how it would look. It was simply dazzling. Then I laid it back, as I though, on Marilla's dresser. Unfortunately, when she next went to look for it, she could not find it, and knew it was my fault. There was a picnic at the end of the week, and oh, what a beautiful picnic it was to have been! Ice cream, which I have never tasted!! But now, Marilla has locked me in my room, and I am not to be allowed to go! I have wept, and tried to explain why I must go (for when else is a girl to taste ice-cream?) but she is certain I may not go. What am I to do? Have you an idea of how I might convince Marilla that I did not harm her brooch, and that I absolutely must go? Please help me before I die of grief! With much hope, ~Cordelia (except everybody calls me Anne, with an "e"...Marilla says Cordelia is a terrible name, but I have always wished to be called that)
Response 1:
Anne,
You must go to Marilla with solemnity and explain it all to her. You know that truthfulness is always the best way, and it most certainly is in this instance. Tell her that you put it back, and help her search for it. But if you are still not allowed to go to the picnic, know that I think it entirely your own fault. Had you not played with what was not yours, this sorrow would not now happen. Ice cream is frivolous, and not to be endured. All great writers have written that being truthful is a great virtue. Go now, and explain to Marilla.
Sincerely,
Miss Mary Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)
Response 2:
Dear Anne,
I do not know what to say! It is obviously most important that you go to the picnic. I love having picnics with each of my friends! And ice-cream is an essential. Perhaps you may tell Marilla a made-up story so that she will let you out? Only make sure you make it seem real to her. Do write and tell me what you do!
Before I go, I must ask, have you a nice nose? Mine is dreadful and flat. Quite the bane of my life. It is a great disappointment to me.
Hoping you get ice-cream,
Miss Amy March (isn't that elegant?) (Little Women)
L. M. Montgomery is one of my favorite authors. :) Her books are always clean. Occasionally, her characters will imagine ghosts etc, but nothing that's ever really spooky. Her books are about kids, and many of them are for kids too. So, now that I've told you that, let's go on. Oh, first, you can find a pretty complete list here. But right here, I'm going to be telling you about the ones I've read.
The Anne of Green Gables series. Eight books. They're amazing. I have the exact set shown below...I love boxed sets. :)
Many people like the first one (Anne of Green Gables) best, and maybe it is the best, but I tend to prefer some of the others. Anne of Avonlea, the second is fun, and so is Anne of the Island. In each of them, Anne gets into adventures that are laughable to us, if not to her. ;) By the 6th book, they start focusing more on Anne's children and family. The 8th book, Rilla of Ingleside has a sweet romance of her daughter, and some sad parts too, but it's worth the read. Something that I just discovered is that she didn't publish them in order. Rilla came out before Windy Poplars or Ingleside. I am sorry for the people who didn't read them in chronological order like I did! Technically, there's a sequel even to Rilla, which it appears Maud intended to be the ninth book in the series. It's called The Blythes are Quoted and it was only published recently. I haven't read it yet.
Maud Montgomery wrote a lot more books than those eight, though! In 1910, she came out with Kilmeny of the Orchard. Incidentally, I just finished reading this one on Kindle, and adored it. :) You can get a free Kindle copy from gutenberg.org ! :) There should be a review of it coming soon. It was a really sweet romance.
Her next two books were The Story Girl and The Golden Road. The latter is a sequel to the former. Again, reviews of these are coming, hopefully later today, since I read them on the Kindle as well. Check out my reviews for more info.
In 1923, Emily of New Moon came out, soon followed by its sequels, Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest. I own this short series. The second is my favorite, and the third I really didn't like very much.
Montgomery wrote a variety of short story collections, including Chronicles of Avonlea and Further Chronicles of Avonlea, both of which I recently enjoyed.
I still have not listed nearly all of her works. She came out with many other short story collections herself, and there were some that were assembled and published after her death.
She also had some other chapter books, such as the Pat series (Pat of Silver Bush, Mistress Pat), The Blue Castle, and Magic for Marigold, along with others. Those are all ones I hope to read soon. :)
Before you go...which of these books that I've mentioned here are you familiar with? Have you read some I haven't? Do you want to?
(Also known as Anne of Avonlea, when sold by Disney.)
My rating on a 1-10 scale: 10
Main characters: Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe, Morgan Harris, Emmeline Harris
Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Family
Primary actors: Megan Follows, Jonathan Crombie, Frank Converse, Genevieve Appleton
Filmmaker: Sullivan Entertainment
Year: 1987
Length: 3 hrs. 50 min.
Based on:Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery
Time period: Late 1800s
Summary: Now 18, Anne Shirley is a teacher at the Avonlea school. She is an aspiring authoress, but discouraged first by a rejection letter from a magazine and then by the surprising (and horrifying) publication of her story for a baking powder company. Gilbert proposes, but convinced that she feels only friendship for him, she refuses – much to his distress. Her best friend Diana marries, and Mrs. Rachel Lynde, at the loss of her husband, comes to live at Green Gables. Anne’s old teacher and friend writes to her about a need for an English teacher at a private school for young ladies, and Anne accepts the position, leaving Avonlea. She arrives in Kingsport, where she finds an abundance of prejudiced Pringle families, who want desperately to see her lose her position and a sour, sarcastic spinsterly teacher who is always out of humor. Anne finds a kindred spirit in one of her students, 13-year-old Emmeline Harris, who lives with her crabby old grandmother. Emmeline’s dashing widower father Morgan takes an interest in Anne, and she, in turn, is charmed by his romantic ways – but it ends with her realizing that handsome and melancholic isn’t everything. After a very interesting and eventful year, she is happy to return to Avonlea – where her true happiness is waiting for her.
Quotes:
Marilla: Now, you come downstairs and see if a good cup of tea and some of those plum puffs I made today don't hearten you.
Anne: (Tearfully) Plum puffs won't minister to a mind diseased in a world that has crumbled into pieces.
“I'm afraid to speak or move for fear that all this wonderful beauty will just vanish - like a broken silence.” –Anne
“I don’t eat my lunch with anyone. I’m not a raggle-taggle gypsy, take me in! Take me in!” –Mrs. Harris
“Good grief! You know how to try one’s patience, don’t you?” –Anne
Josie Pye: You wore that sweet old dress to Fanny Emerson's wedding last year, though, didn't you, Anne? You know what they say, "Twice a bridesmaid, never a bride."
Anne: That's three times a bridesmaid, not twice, Josie. But then you're so fortunate; the only thing you've ever had to wear twice is a sour expression.
Marilla: What is to be will be, Rachel.
Mrs. Lynde: And what isn’t to be sometimes happens.
My overall opinion: I love this movie; it’s simply beautiful, and one of my favorites. I love the music and the costuming. I love Anne; I love all the old-fashioned elegance. The story is very intriguing. Since it’s a combination of 3 books, many changes had to be made, so it’s hard to compare; but most circumstances and characters in the movie were in the book somewhere, and that is an important part to making the story good.
Main characters: Anne Shirley, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, Gilbert Blythe, Diana Barry
Genre(s): Drama, Family
Primary actors: Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Jonathan Crombie, Schuyler Grant
Filmmaker: Sullivan Entertainment
Year: 1985
Length: 3 hrs. 19 min.
Based on: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Time period: Late 1800s, Canada
Summary: Mistreated in homes and not wanted at orphanages, Anne Shirley comforts and amuses herself with her excellent and dramatic imagination. She tries to imagine difficulties away and lives her own life, the way she wants it, in her head. When she finds herself in Avonlea, Prince Edward Island, on her way to a new home with a quiet old man named Matthew Cuthbert, she can hardly believe it is real. When they arrive at Green Gables, she learns from Matthew’s spinster sister Marilla that they were expecting a boy, and she must go back. Anne’s happiness melts to despair as the beautiful dream is shattered. Marilla’s hasty decision to send Anne back is hindered, and she decided to let Anne stay “on trial”. Anne finds the “bosom friend” she’s always dreamed of, a girl named Diana Barry. Rachel Lynde, a gossipy woman who speaks her critical mind and Gilbert Blythe, a boy at school who teases get the better of Anne’s short temper – not difficult to achieve, when her red hair is remarked upon. However, in spite of – or because of – her peculiar ways, with Matthew on Anne’s side the whole way, she finds her way into Marilla’s heart, and Green Gables becomes her permanent home. As few years pass, and Anne excels in her studies, has Gilbert as a constant but unwelcome admirer (and rival), and all along keeps finding herself in numerous mishaps and difficult situations (which, to the onlooker, can prove quite hilarious.)
Quotes:
(This movie has some of the best quotes, and there are so many! I will try to limit them…)
Marilla: Well, what's your name?
Anne: Would you please call me Cordelia?
Marilla: Call you Cordelia?
Anne: Don't you think it's a pretty name?
Marilla: Is that your name?
Anne: Well, no, it's not exactly my name, though I would love to be called Cordelia.
Marilla: I don't understand what you mean.
Anne: Cordelia is a perfectly elegant name.
Marilla: What is your name child, and no more nonsense!
Anne: Anne Shirley. Plain, old, unromantic Anne Shirley.
Marilla: Anne Shirley is a fine and sensible name, and hardly one to be ashamed of.
Anne: Oh, I'm not ashamed, but if you are going to call me Anne, would you please be sure to spell it with an "e". … If you'll only call me Anne with an "e", I'll try and reconcile myself to not being called Cordelia.
“I wouldn't give a dog I liked to that Blewett woman.” –Marilla
“You can punish me any way you like. You can lock me up in a dark dungeon inhabited by snakes and toads, and feed me on bread and water. I won't complain. But I cannot ask Rachel Lynde to forgive me. –Anne
Anne: Don’t you ever imagine things different from what they are?
Marilla: (emphatically) No.
Anne: Oh, Marilla! How much you miss.
Diana: Gilbert always makes fun of the girls. He calls me crow-head all the time, and I’ve never heard him apologize before.
Anne: There's a world of difference between being called crow-head and being called carrots. I shall never forgive Gilbert Blythe. The iron has entered my soul, Diana. My mind is made up; my red hair is a curse.
“Let us not have tears; partings are a natural part of life.” –Mr. Phillips
Diana: Oh, Anne, I’m scared!
Anne: So am I. Deliciously scared.
“Miss Stacey, I knew you were sympathetic to the human plight the minute we met.” –Anne
“I'm not interested in the confessions of assassins who masquerade as little girls.” –Aunt Josephine
“My life is an open book, I see. Who told you that?” –Anne
Mrs. Allan: How are you, Anne?
Anne: Well in body, although considerably ruffled in spirit, thank you.
“I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I was never able to believe it. A rose just couldn't smell as sweet if it was a thistle or a skunk-cabbage.” –Anne
My overall opinion: This is one of my favorite movies – I’ve been watching it ever since I was about 4 years old. Anne (spelled with an “e”!) has to be one of the most interesting and amusing heroines in literature, and while no movie could probably do her justice, this is a very good representation. I love the music, it’s so beautiful; the theme song has been my favorite song for many years. The scenery is excellent – P.E.I. is very lovely. I like the costumes too, especially as Anne gets older.
