Rose-tinted ideals and the threat of spinsterhood: Teaching and maternalism in Anne of Avonlea (1909) (Idéaux édulcorés et la menace du statut de “vieille fille”: l’enseignement et le maternalisme dans Anne of Avonlea (1909))

Abstract

Concentrating on L.M. Montgomery’s often overlooked Anne sequel Anne of Avonlea (1909), this article interrogates the representation of Anne-as-teacher, particularly focusing on the ways in which Montgomery extends this role beyond the confines of the schoolhouse. It explores the ways Anne’s ‘teaching’ is presented to the reader as both a mode of employment and a route for her own personal development that both draws upon and extends her seemingly innate maternalism. It also examines the extent to which Montgomery’s intended narrative destiny for Anne was shaped by both societal expectations of the period regarding young women, and by the conventions of the domestic romance genre itself. This article intends to encourage new evaluations and reassessment of the Anne sequels by drawing attention to the conflicting relationships between writing, paid work, and gender in this period, which both Montgomery and her protagonist were forced to overcome.