Is Anne of Green Gables anti-Catholic?

[bones_IV]

Here’s what I know about Anne of Green Gables so far. Anne, Marilla and Matthew, a brother and sister, are living together as adults. Their obese neighbor, Rachel, is a bit of a gossip.
Not to mention obese. Anne, herself, wandering around alone in the woods (what’s up with that?). Talking to pagan goddesses? Yikes. Any more thoughts.

 

[cockatoo]

I believe it is neither anti or pro catholic. It doesn’t seem to be attacking our faith at all. I have read stories with main character being pagan if religion is mentioned(but these are all in like a medieval setting in a different world). I wouldn’t be concerned about it.

 

[LilyM]

I believe it is neither anti or pro catholic. It doesn’t seem to be attacking our faith at all. I have read stories with main character being pagan if religion is mentioned(but these are all in like a medieval setting in a different world). I wouldn’t be concerned about it.

Anne is a fanciful young girl, budding author and a devout church-going Presbyterian (or is it Methodist? I forget) to boot - any thoughts of pagan goddesses would’ve been natural as they are for many imaginative young lasses, but fleeting indeed!

And what do the living arrangements or the neighbour have to do with anything? Nothing anti-Catholic (although definitely anti-gossip and anti-obesity, which is a good thing) about it. Brother, sister and adopted child can surely live together, even as adults, with no scandal resulting!

 

[Mirdath]

Seek to be offended, and ye shall find in spades wherever ye look, I guess…

Seriously, bones, get a hobby!

 

[puzzleannie]

I don’t think you could find anything new age or goddess-worshipping in Anne of you looked with both hands for a week.

She was a (fictional) very imaginative girl who read fictional romances every chance she got and aspired to be writer, and thought and spoke in exaggerated poetic images that sounded strange to her rather staid and unimaginative guardians.

One of my favorite heroines, the Disney miniseries is very well done and a good addition to any home video library, but girls should read the books as well.

except for the fact that Anne is a product of her time and culture, 19th c very Protestant Maritime Canada, and would have imbibed the generalized prejudice against French-speaking Catholic Canadiens (with their large families) there is nothing overtly anti-Catholic in any of the books about Anne.

 

[Cat]

I love these books, and so does my daughter! I only discovered them a few years ago–I wish I had known about them when I was a child.

 

[SeekerJen]

except for the fact that Anne is a product of her time and culture, 19th c very Protestant Maritime Canada, and would have imbibed the generalized prejudice against French-speaking Catholic Canadiens (with their large families) there is nothing overtly anti-Catholic in any of the books about Anne.

I seem to remember that in one of LM Montgomery’s other books, maybe one of the “Emily of New Moon” series, the protagonist ends up befriending a Catholic priest for a short while. I think Montgomery liked to satirize the inter-church rivalries in small-town Maritime Canada. In the later “Anne” books one of Anne’s neighbors is rather vehemently Presbyterian and anti-Methodist, and later forgives another woman for being Episcopalian.

I didn’t catch this stuff when I was a kid, but it’s a hoot reading these as an adult. They’re very funny. Still among my absolute favorites,

 

[peary]

Here’s what I know about Anne of Green Gables so far. Anne, Marilla and Matthew, a brother and sister, are living together as adults. Their obese neighbor, Rachel, is a bit of a gossip.
Not to mention obese. Anne, herself, wandering around alone in the woods (what’s up with that?). Talking to pagan goddesses? Yikes. Any more thoughts.

Did you ever read the ORIGINAL story? It was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery and published in 1908. I think your concern might be two of the characters, Rachel Lynde and Murilla Cuthbert who distrust foreigners and Catholics, but this in within the context of their characterization. The book is not anti-Catholic.

Many of the places in the fictional town of Avonlea come from Montgomery’s childhood in Cavendish. Montgomery loved the beauty of Prince Edward Island, and Anne, like her creator, has a passionate attachment to nature and finds comfort in the outdoors when her family life torments her.

After the success of Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery went on to write seven more novels about Anne, following the protagonist through adulthood and motherhood. Several novels in the Anne series have been adapted and made into a successful television miniseries. Montgomery’s work has been translated into several languages, and Montgomery museums, plays, and houses on Prince Edward Island draw international visitors.

 

[drafdog]

Try reading the books. There are four or five of them in all. A great read for young girls. The title character is a very imaginative orphan girl who comes (by mistake) to live with Matthew and his sister Marilla. The next door neighbor, Rachel, is at worst a gossip but she is not obese.
The CBC did a series based on the books a number of years ago that provided great family viewing for my children.
As I said: try reading the books.

Matthew

 

[mommyof4]

Here’s what I know about Anne of Green Gables so far. Anne, Marilla and Matthew, a brother and sister, are living together as adults. Their obese neighbor, Rachel, is a bit of a gossip.
Not to mention obese. Anne, herself, wandering around alone in the woods (what’s up with that?). Talking to pagan goddesses? Yikes. Any more thoughts.

Yea- I love the movies and the books.

 

[Lil_M]

I LOVE ANNE!!!

I’ve read the books a hundred times, and I can’t think that Catholicism comes up at all. She is, as a PP said, a product of her time, a devout Protestant. After all LM Montgomery was married to a minister. If you read the “Emily” books, there is an encounter with a priest, and she is all worried about what kind of person he would be but finds him to be, as “Anne” would say, a kindred spirit.

 

[MarthaMartha]

except for the fact that Anne is a product of her time and culture, 19th c very Protestant Maritime Canada, and would have imbibed the generalized prejudice against French-speaking Catholic Canadiens (with their large families) there is nothing overtly anti-Catholic in any of the books about Anne.

I have loved those books and their characters for four decades – and I am the granddaughter of French-speaking Catholic Canadiens. Lots of them (yup, large families).

 

[Lissla_Lissar]

No. Not anti-Catholic. Catholicism doesn’t really enter into the Presbyterian world of Avonlea (and later Four Winds). Montgomery did like to satirize the general inter-religous rivalry, and also poked sly fun at people who claim to be very religious, but don’t recognise Biblical references.

Anne was very much a product of the Romantic movement, in a small-town environment. She enjoyed poetry and mythology, but was in no sense goddess-worshipping.

As for Rachel Lynde, she is a fallen human woman, with a good heart, but with besetting sins as well. Both her good and bad qualities are nicely illustrated.

The Anne books are my favourite children’s lit. They’re funny, nicely written, and have a keen understanding of life through a child’s eyes. If you haven’t read them, I recommend them highly. They aren’t Catholic, but neither is the Little House on the Prairie series (which I think is Congregationalist). Doesn’t stop either from being good books.