Eva’s First Impression
At last, Anne Shirley is finally here~! For those who don’t know Anne of Green Gables, it is a 1908 Canadian Classic, it’s amazing to see this series still so beloved world-wide almost 120 years since it’s first publication. It’s a series that’s been present throughout my entire childhood, so it has a special place in my heart!
The first episode was such a delight to watch, the combination of fond nostalgia and feels brought a couple tears to the eyes. Anne is such a bright and intellectual child, with an imagination like no other. It certainly has helped her cope throughout her life, but it’s also fundamentally her biggest charm that successfully wins the hearts of the Cuthberts siblings.
Anne Shirley’s eleven years old, her parents died not long after she was born, since then she’s been bounced around between two different families due to varying circumstances with no real place to call home until she finally was sent to the orphan asylum. So to be brought to the beautiful Prince Edward Island and promised a home on a lovely homestead of Green Gables, it’s a place that meets the dreams of Anne’s wildest imagination, was nothing short of a blessing. However that dream wasn’t able to last into the night. It shattered when the reality hit that she was not the one they had originally asked for. It’s completely understandable why she was so devastated. But luckily, as fate would have it, Marilla changed her mind and decided to let her to stay.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Anne is a chatterbox, but hey, at least she makes listening to her very interesting! It’s her vast imagination and incredible way with words makes it so easy for her to express that. The way she’s able to come up with majestic names and titles to things that resonates deeply with her, like giving a new and more eloquent title to Avenue, a dreamy quiet little road to White Way of Delight! We see her do with a couple of more instances such as Barry’s Pond to Lake of Shining Waters, or to naming the tree Snow Queen outside her bedroom window.
But she isn’t just imaginative, she’s also incredibly witty. The way she was able to flip the script when Marilla asked her why would she name a tree was utterly brilliant. She wanted to get to know the tree better, would Marilla like to be called nothing but a woman all the time?
She’s such an intellectual child that it can be difficult for her peers to keep up with her, perhaps you could say that’s why they make fun of her for ‘using big words’ back at the orphanage. But it’s undeniably Anne’s greatest asset and more individualistic charm to her character. After-all, it’s thanks to her wit that she managed to win Marilla, who was specifically looking to adopt a boy.
Of course you could also say she can be a bit dramatic about the things she dislikes about herself, but the way she expresses disdains and dreams is honestly hilarious. She hates her red hair so much that she wished it had been black that’s long and wavy! She also wished that she had a more elegant name like Cordelia. (She had tried to convince Marilla to call her that instead, but Marilla’s a no-nonsense lady so she shot that down immediately). She’s also very particular about her name, insisting that her name must be spelt ending with an “e”, because it’s prettier that way.
And finally, we have the Cuthbert siblings.
Matthew is a kind, quiet and soft-hearted man, not one of much words but he doesn’t mind being the listener to an interesting conversation. Poor guy when he realized they had gotten a girl instead of a boy didn’t know how to break the news to her, and already knew how his sister was going to the error. But it didn’t bother him that she wasn’t who they were expecting, he was quickly charmed by her character and felt she’d make good company for his sister. On top of that, it really speaks to his character how rather than adopting a child that can be useful to them, he and Marilla can be useful to the child. And it’s true, especially in Anne’s case. It would be awful for her to have to suppress her true self because the household could not, or would not embrace her for who she is.
Meanwhile Marilla is the opposite of her brother, more stern and in some ways prickly, but underneath it all she too has a soft heart. She was against the idea of having a girl since the whole purpose was asking for a boy was to help Matthew to assist him around the farm. Ultimately it was Anne’s endearing wit that won her over. And besides having been charmed by Anne’s wit, she refused to turn a blind eye to Anne being taken in by Mrs. Blewett, a woman that she and Matthew (or more accurately, you could may as well say the whole damn island) were already aware of her unsavoury reputation. Hell, Matthew even said he wouldn’t even trust giving that woman a dog is enough to sum it up.
So thanks to Marilla changing her mind, Anne now has a place she can call home. For once her dreams and imagination of being surrounded by beautiful nature has finally come to fruition.
With that said, it should be obvious that OF COURSE I’ll be covering this show! As promised in the season preview, I’m committing myself to this series from start to finish. I already knew I’d be on board but the premiere only solidified that decision. Though I will note in advance that this may be a series where I do double-posts frequently (similarly to Spice and Wolf), mainly to balance things out when there isn’t much to go into depth about. I’m thrilled that this is going to be 24 episodes long, so I can’t wait to be revisiting my childhood favourite again! And for those who have never heard of, or read Anne of Green Gables, I hope you’ll enjoy this series too!
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