They may have lived, on the page, more than a century ago, but I think girls can still learn a lot from Jo March, Elizabeth Bennet and Anne Shirley.
The three fictional female characters from books I devoured as a child, I still look to them as heroines of this age.
They were all little women, especially so in Jo’s case, that stood out from their times, not to fall down to a boy’s whim, or societal expectations.
Whether it’s Pride and Prejudice’s “Lizzy” telling snobby Lady Catherine that she is of equal worthiness to that of Mr. Darcy, or Jo wearing the proverbial “pants” in the family while her father is off at war, they were cool chicks for their day.
Then there’s my favourite character, one that many Canadian girls, with or without red hair, have loved since she appeared in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables in 1908.
I was reminded of what a kindred spirit Anne Shirley is as I watched a fantastic rendition of Anne of Green Gables The Musical the other day.
Accompanied to the student theatre production at W.L. Seaton Secondary School with my nine, soon-to-turn 10-year-old, daughter, we found ourselves enraptured, and laughing at Anne’s antics all over again (this is due in part to the terrific student cast and the oh-so-talented Shaughnessy O’Brien as Anne who did a fantastic job).
I was such an Anne fan that when I was 13, while on a camping trip with my sister and dad to P.E.I., I dragged them all to the Anne touristy sites: Avonlea village, the site of the house that served as inspiration for Green Gables, to the White Sands Hotel (actually the Dalvay by the Sea), where Anne had her famous public speaking engagement, and to see the musical at the Charlottetown Festival (now celebrating its 50-year anniversary).
I am hoping to make that trip again now that my daughter has just started reading my hard-cover editions of the Anne series.
Although the language of those days is, at times, hard for her to decipher, she seems to be able to relate to the little orphan, who would have been about 12 when she was adopted by the Cuthberts in 1901.
My daughter is an avid reader, but she tends to stick her nose into The Dork Diaries and that other diary, of a wimpy kid variety. Her idea of a classic is an Archie comic. She has read Roald Dahl’s Matilda, but I am trying to steer her towards more female authors who have made an impact.
So to get her reading about Anne is something that I am most excited about.
As many who have read the books, Ms. Shirley makes quite the impression to this day, with her long, dramatic monologues, vast imagination, and angry outbursts, especially when people (ahem, Gilbert Blythe and Rachel Lynde) call her “Carrots.”
At first, she’s all about appearances, yearning for raven black hair and puff sleeves, and really what girl at that age isn’t? But eventually that stuff falls away and she shows us what’s inside – mostly her heart and brain.
There are few young female role models for girls to look up to these days – unless you consider flashing your chest and dancing while wearing thigh-high boots, à la Miley Cyrus and Arianne Grande, something to aspire to.
I don’t expect girls to go back to those corseted, virginal days of Downton Abbey (although if you’ve been watching Downton’s season five, you’ll know that even cold and calculated Lady Mary can get up to some naughty business… and that’s no spoiler), I just wish there were more Annes, Jos and Lizzies out there that can show girls what it means to have an independent mind – and an endearing soul.
After we wrap up Anne, I’ll be introducing my girl to Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, and the other strong female-driven novels of their ilk. She needs to meet Nancy Drew, Laura Ingalls, Ramona Quimby, Hermione Granger… They are out there, all you have to do is read.
