O Diário de Gilbert Blythe @diario-de-gilbert-blythe - Tumblr Blog

What do you think of AI-generated art? This one was created by a friend of mine. She got the idea after reading volume III of the Diary of Gilbert Blythe. I personally prefer to support real artists and she shares this opinion, but I can't deny the result here is quite nice. That's Anne and Gilbert right after their engagement at the end of AotI, and Diana and Fred, who by this point were already married with a kid (little Fred Jr.). This picture is supposed to have been taken right before the four of them went for a last A.V.I.S. appointment. I quite liked it!

#anne of green gables #anne shirley #art #ai generated #gilbert blythe #diana barry #fred wright

klarinette49

this or that | tag game

Thank you for tagging me @baronessblixen I love those games!

Tagging @mmleadinglady @thefourthdashwoodsister @wah-pah @rory-jess-luke-lorelai @autumnrose11

autumnrose11

@klarinette49 thank you so much for the tag!! 💕

Tagging @kehlana-wolhamonao3 @marinaslibrary @alwayschasingrainbows @misscrawfords @coffeishowifunction plus anyone who wants to participate. No pressure of course :)

alwayschasingrainbows

Thank you for tagging me, dear @autumnrose11! It looks so fun!

Tagging (no pressure!): @no-where-new-hero @pinkenamelheart @andreabaideas @girlathome9 @diario-de-gilbert-blythe @gogandmagog @detectivepetrichor @the-good-the-bad-the-stupid

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

the-moral-of-the-rose

"There were jolly playmates there, too—“Uncle” Davy’s children and “Aunt” Diana’s children." (Rainbow Valley).

I tried to guess the ages of all the children:

Fred Jr. Wright - 19

Anne Cordelia Wright - 17

Jack Wright - 15

Jem Blythe - 13

Walter Blythe - 12

Nan and Di Blythe - 10

Shirley Blythe - 8 (although he wasn't in Avonlea - he spent the summer with Susan)

Rilla Blythe - 6

Davy's children - nothing is known of them, except that Davy got married not long before the events of Anne of Ingleside ("It's not so lonesome now since Davy got married..." - Anne of Ingleside). There is no mention of any babies or toddlers in Green Gables at this time, though, so I suppose that Davy's children might be close to Rilla's age or younger - so basically very young.

The possible dynamics between the kids/teenagers:

I think that the twins would adore and dote on Davy's babies and Rilla could play with the older ones. Jem and Jack might be chums, especially since they seem to have similar personalities. Walter and Anne Cordelia were described as very imaginative, so I can see them as getting along very well. Anne Cordelia would probably be a sort of "big sister" to the twins and dote on little Rilla. I see her as being especially close to imaginative Nan (since the girls shared the same name and similar personalities). Fred might be a sort of... mentor to Jem, especially since Jem was at the age he might begin to think that "the girls" weren't quite so yucky after all.

Do you have any other ideas/headcanons for the friendships between Anne's and Diana's children? I always felt sorry that they weren't closer in age and leaving near each other.

@diario-de-gilbert-blythe

@pinkenamelheart

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

Loved the idea of this. I remember when I finished reading Anne of the Island for the first time and thought surely Anne and Gilbert would continue living in Avonlea after they were married, and then their children would be friends with Diana and Fred's and they would all grow up together. I guess a lot of people imagined the same before getting to read Anne's House of Dreams.

Anyway, since in the end all the time these children could have together would be occasional weekends or summers, I imagine they would have great fun. We know Anne's kids loved nature and Diana's, well, they were raised in Avonlea, so they would do all kinds of exploring. And then the friendship dynamics that you constructed are spot on, in my opinion. Really well thought. I can clearly see Jem and Jack reaching every corner of Avonlea during their explorings and getting into scrapes. As there was no girl Anne Cordelia's age, she would be a leader to the twins and a spiritual pal to Walter. I had such a fun time imagining the dynamics between Jem, Jack and Fred Jr., because the later would already be much involved in courting and dates with girls and the two younger boys would be watching closely to get tips.

Sometimes I forget Davy was already a father by Rainbow Valley, and I had the exactly same thought about the twins and his children. In the universe I designed for the Diaries of Gilbert Blythe, Davy's wife Millie is the sister of Gilbert's college pal Max (the "fat, funny little up-country boy with a bumpy forehead" mentioned in Anne of Green Gables). Gilbert becomes something of a role model for Millie, and he is the one who gives her her first book. Later she visited Avonlea frequently and that's how she and Davy got to know each other. Anyway, I always imagined the time Gilbert and Anne brought the baby twins to Avonlea for the first time, and I imagine Millie just adoring them and maybe even wishing she would have twins herself. And maybe she did? Rainbow Valley mentions Davy had children, so it is technically possible - althought not very probable as the book would probably say it clearly if Davy's children were twins too.

What I really think is that Millie loved Nan and Di, and when she had her own kids the twins would love them in return. As you mentioned, in Rainbow Valley Davy and Millie's children couldn't have been older than 6, so basically babies, and I can see Anne's twins and Rilla playing with them a lot.

alwayschasingrainbows

I think that Lucy Maud Montgomery used the references from a poem "Rubaiyat" by Omar Khayyam, to build a love story between Emily Byrd Starr and Teddy Kent in Emily's Quest, by using the symbolism of a book, a rose and a wine.

THE BOOK

"If I had a tail I'd lash it," groaned Ilse, casting herself on Emily's bed and hurling one of Emily's treasured volumes—a little old copy of the Rubaiyat Teddy had given her in high school days—across the room. The back came off and the leaves flew every which way for a Sunday. Emily was annoyed." (Emily's Quest).

First of all, we learn that it was Teddy who had given Emily this book, during their childhood. By saying so, Montgomery might imply that he understood (and perhaps, shared) Emily's love of poetry and beauty. While Perry Miller gives Emily more practical gifts (a hen, a typing machine), Teddy gives her "an old copy" of a poem - a gift Emily loves, even if others might not find it it worth-while. The gift is a symbol of their mutual understanding and similar approach to life.

It is important to point out that Emily cherished this book, partly because it was a gift from Teddy. Their friendship was strong at this point, slowly starting to blossom into something more.

Another moment in their relationship is symbolized by Ilse destroying the book. An act of throwing it across the room might refer to the way Ilse was casually throwing comments about Teddy, and in doing so, she shatted Emily's perfect image of Teddy. Perhaps the ruined book is a symbol of Teddy and Emily's failing relationship.

The quote "The back came off and the leaves flew every which way" might be a reference to noticing the side of Teddy Emily was not aware of.

THE ROSE

On the day of her twenty-fourth birthday, Emily opens the letter to herself, written at the age of fourteen and finds old rose petals inside the envelope (another gift from Teddy):

"A whiff of old fragrance came with it. Folded in it were some dried rose-leaves—crisp brown things that crumbled to dust under her touch. Yes, she remembered that rose—Teddy had brought it to her one evening when they had been children together and he had been so proud of that first red rose that bloomed on a little house rose-bush." (Emily's Quest).

It might be read as a reference to these verses: "Each Morn a thousand Roses brings, you say: Yes, but where leaves the Rose of Yesterday?"

"Rose of Yesterday" might symbolize a love that once was, especially in connection with these verses from "Rubaiyat": "One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies; The Flower that once has blown for ever dies."

Similarly, the quote from Rubaiyat: "And look—a thousand Blossoms with the Day Woke/and a thousand scatter'd into Clay/ And this first Summer Month that brings the Rose/ Shall take Jamshyd and Kaikobad away."

might refer to Emily and Teddy's happy summer, after she broke her engagement with Dean:

"A wonderful month followed. A month of indescribable roses, exquisite hazes, silver perfection of moonlight, unforgettable amethystine dusks, march of rains, bugle-call of winds, blossoms of purple and star-dust, mystery, music, magic. A month of laughter and dance and joy, of enchantment infinite. Yet a month of restrained, hidden realization." (Emily's Quest).

Just like in the poem, after the happy month has passed, Emily and Teddy's relationship is strained again, after he leaves (seemingly) with no goodbye.

THE WINE

When Emily finds out about Ilse and Teddy's engagement, she says: "I've spilled my cup of life's wine on the ground—somehow. And she will give me no more. So I must go thirsty. (Emily's Quest)

It is, possibly, a reference to these verses of Rubayiat:

"Dreaming when Dawn's Left Hand was in the Sky I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry, "Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry." (Rubaiyat).

"Wine" might refer to the joys of life and the contentment of the present time. It is Dean Priest who uses a "wine" as a symbol of life and happiness: "Emily, do you know I'm a little drunk to-night—on the wine of life. Don't wonder if I say crazy things." (Emily's Quest).

Similar meaning is to be found in the Rubaiyat: "Ah, fill the Cup:—what boots it to repeat How Time is slipping underneath our Feet: Unborn TO-MORROW and dead YESTERDAY, Why fret about them if TO-DAY be sweet!"

For Emily, at this point, her own "today" is unbereable. After learning about Ilse's plans to marry Teddy, Emily "did not feel either pain or surprise—one does not feel either, I am told, when a bullet strikes the heart." and "it seemed to her that she was suffering everything of death but its merciful dying" (Emily's Quest).

The message of Rubaiyat is a devastating one:

"Then to this earthen Bowl did I adjourn My Lip the secret Well of Life to learn: And Lip to Lip it murmur'd—"While you live, Drink!—for once dead you never shall return."

By saying "So I must go thirsty" Emily might mean that - without the wine - her own life is going to be empty of all the hopes and dreams - that there is no return to who she used to be. Her biggest regret, though, is not the fact Teddy doesn't love her at this moment, but the fact he seemingly never had. When she learns about his letter, she feels like a changed person:

"Bitterness—humiliation—shame had vanished from her being. Teddy had loved her. The sweetness of the revelation blotted out, for the time at least, all other feelings. Anger—resentment—could find no place in her soul. She felt like a new creature." (Emily's Quest).

The references from the poem are seen through the last book. The poem Teddy had given Emily, seemingly shaped their entire journey together.

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

#such an interesting and accurate analysis

brightriverstation-deactivated2

What do you think Gilbert did while in Alberta? Work? Did they know people prior? Did his father work?

the-moral-of-the-rose

I always thought that Gilbert's dad might have suffered from some serious health issues (maybe tuberculosis?) and he needed someone with him to help him in everyday activities. I suppose that Gilbert - being only twelve-thirteen at this time - couldn't do much more for work than some odd jobs... I think that he was needed to keep John a company and help him.

Tagging @diario-de-gilbert-blythe and @pinkenamelheart ,who might be interested and might have some interesting ideas :)

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

Really good question. I had to think about that a lot when I was writing the first Diary of Gilbert Blythe because it is such a pivotal detail that would bring repercussions for many years. So I did a lot of research.

The first thing I found out was that LMM made a small mistake when naming the place Gilbert and his father traveled to, because the Territory of Alberta was established in 1882, and they were there during the early 1870s. So it wasn't Alberta, but the Northern Territories.

And then the disease that John Blythe had. We all know it was common for doctors of that time to recommend a change of airs to treat some diseases and the first one I thought was tuberculosis or some other respiratory ailment. But then I pondered that Alberta's (or rather, the Northern Territories') weather wouldn't be much better for that. In fact, it gets even colder in the Prairies, so it wouldn't make sense for John Blythe to leave the quite good Island climate for that reason. For many other diseases I reached the same conclusion and then decided to change the perspective: they wouldn't be moving because they were recommended so by a doctor, but to find a particular doctor.

Then I developed that idea further. It would be a kind of eccentric physician who traveled the whole world doing research and who would, by that time, be living in the Northern Territories. John Blythe had a serious liver disease and, because those weren't that much understood during the Victorian Era, he and Gilbert would decide to set out to find that particular doctor who could help them.

And then Gilbert and John would start living with the doctor in a small village - that wasn't unheard of back then. Gilbert would want to help (thus him not having much time to go to school) and that's how he would start appreciating the work of a doctor. The first seed of a lifelong pursuit that would end up with him deciding to become a doctor too. In my version, it was that doctor who said the phrase "man is a fighting animal", quoted by Gilbert to Anne in AoA.

In my first draft I wrote quite a lot about how Gilbert's life was during that time before I realized it was too much. I thought it was better to bring the story back to Avonlea as soon as possible, so I cut a lot of it, but I developed a number of ideas about that time.

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

I made a mistake myself: it wasn't the Northern Territories, but the Northwest Territories.

brightriverstation-deactivated2

What do you think Gilbert did while in Alberta? Work? Did they know people prior? Did his father work?

the-moral-of-the-rose

I always thought that Gilbert's dad might have suffered from some serious health issues (maybe tuberculosis?) and he needed someone with him to help him in everyday activities. I suppose that Gilbert - being only twelve-thirteen at this time - couldn't do much more for work than some odd jobs... I think that he was needed to keep John a company and help him.

Tagging @diario-de-gilbert-blythe and @pinkenamelheart ,who might be interested and might have some interesting ideas :)

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

Really good question. I had to think about that a lot when I was writing the first Diary of Gilbert Blythe because it is such a pivotal detail that would bring repercussions for many years. So I did a lot of research.

The first thing I found out was that LMM made a small mistake when naming the place Gilbert and his father traveled to, because the Territory of Alberta was established in 1882, and they were there during the early 1870s. So it wasn't Alberta, but the Northern Territories.

And then the disease that John Blythe had. We all know it was common for doctors of that time to recommend a change of airs to treat some diseases and the first one I thought was tuberculosis or some other respiratory ailment. But then I pondered that Alberta's (or rather, the Northern Territories') weather wouldn't be much better for that. In fact, it gets even colder in the Prairies, so it wouldn't make sense for John Blythe to leave the quite good Island climate for that reason. For many other diseases I reached the same conclusion and then decided to change the perspective: they wouldn't be moving because they were recommended so by a doctor, but to find a particular doctor.

Then I developed that idea further. It would be a kind of eccentric physician who traveled the whole world doing research and who would, by that time, be living in the Northern Territories. John Blythe had a serious liver disease and, because those weren't that much understood during the Victorian Era, he and Gilbert would decide to set out to find that particular doctor who could help them.

And then Gilbert and John would start living with the doctor in a small village - that wasn't unheard of back then. Gilbert would want to help (thus him not having much time to go to school) and that's how he would start appreciating the work of a doctor. The first seed of a lifelong pursuit that would end up with him deciding to become a doctor too. In my version, it was that doctor who said the phrase "man is a fighting animal", quoted by Gilbert to Anne in AoA.

In my first draft I wrote quite a lot about how Gilbert's life was during that time before I realized it was too much. I thought it was better to bring the story back to Avonlea as soon as possible, so I cut a lot of it, but I developed a number of ideas about that time.

the-moral-of-the-rose

Thanks to @diario-de-gilbert-blythe's post about lillies-of-the-valley (and @pinkenamelheart's - the op), I revisited my own, very old copy of Anne of Green Gables, for the first time in years. And... was so surprised to find I possess an illustrated version! True, there aren't too many pictures in the book, but still!

Anyway, I wanted to share them (all credit goes to an artist: Mrs. Jolanta Adamus Ludwikowska, I own nothing):

Anne at the train station, waiting for Matthew.

Anne hitting Gilbert with her slate.

Anne and Diana

Anne and Diana with Aunt Josephine.

Mr. and Mrs. Allen coming to a tea.

Anne after falling off the roof.

Anne after dying her hair

Well... Anne being Anne.

There are no pictures on the cover - it is one of these old, brown-leathered covers with gold letters.

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

Those are so delightful. As a kid I loved those kinds of illustrated books where the illustrations where somewhat scarce, like maybe eight of them. They were like windows we would sometimes encounter as we turned the pages. I actually remember that some of the books I had were illustrated by slavic artists and I just found them so beautiful, like one I read to my younger sisters that was a fairy tale. All I can remember is the first name of the artist: Radomila.

Also I wish I had taken pictures of the Anne book in my old school library, but they wouldn't be much. Actually it is so old that the cover fell apart and they had a makeshift one done. It has no illustrations so I had to create the images of the characters in my mind, sometimes using real people from my hometown as models.

pinkenamelheart

Which flower do you think best represents Anne and Gilbert's love?

Roses

Mayflowers

Lily of the valley

Voting ended onApr 26, 2024

Thank you @alwayschasingrainbows for inspiring me to do this poll. We know that these three flowers are important in their relationship, but which do you think represents their love best? Thank you to everyone who will vote. I will wait with curiosity for the result and please share your thoughts on the subject with us. I will share too my opinion near the end of the poll.

@diario-de-gilbert-blythe I'm curious about your thoughts on this subject. I would be happy if you answered, but of course you don't have to hurry.

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

Your question got me thinking about the first time I read Anne of the Island. Back then that book was not available in my mother tongue so I read it in English. When I got to the part of the graduation ceremony and Anne appears with Gilbert's lilies-of-the-valley I remember thinking "That's nice. The same flowers he offered her back in Anne of Green Gables and she refused (that's in chapter XX of AoGG)".

Some time after that when I was drafting what would become the first Diary of Gilbert Blythe I was re-reading an English ebook of AoGG and how surprised I was when I found out that the flowers Gilbert offered to Anne weren't lilies-of-the-valley, but mayflowers. I was amused and thought maybe it was just my bad memory.

But your poll made me revisit that all over again. I searched my memories and had a lot of vivid ones of reading about lilies-of-the-valley in AoGG. So I decided to investigate. This weekeend I traveled to my hometown and visited my old school where I read AoGG for the first time. Luckily they were open last Saturday and I could visit the once small library where I fell in love with reading so many years ago. Even more luckily: the old volume of Anne Shirley, translated to Portuguese 85 years ago was still there.

And I finally got my answer: "mayflowers" was translated there as "lírios do vale", which is the standard Portuguese translation for "lilies-of-the-valley". That's what got me confused. To be fair, the translator didn't have much choice. There's no mayflowers in my country and she obviously didn't have the internet to look it up, so she ended up using the name of another flower ("a flower by any other name..."). In the end the two flowers are somewhat similar in appearance.

I used to think it was symbolical that Anne accepted Gilbert's lilies-of-the-valley when they were graduating, like the forgiveness of the old refusal. But even after having to rearrange that thought I still believe the lilies-of-the-valley represent that moment and their relationship as a whole. They're the flowers of love that prevailed and never lost faith. When Anne imagined the house where she was born she imagined them with lilies-of-the-valley. So maybe that's part of why she appeared wearing them during graduation: Gilbert made her feel like home.

the-moral-of-the-rose

Rilla of Ingleside created a new timeline...

Anne's House of Dreams mentioned a historical event - a federal election: “Mistress Blythe, the Liberals are in with a sweeping majority. After eighteen years of Tory mismanagement this down-trodden country is going to have a chance at last.” (AHoD).

From Wikipedia: "The 1896 Canadian federal election was held on June 23, 1896, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 8th Parliament of Canada. Though the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Charles Tupper, won a plurality of the popular vote, the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won the majority of seats to form the next government. The election ended 18 years of Conservative rule."

It wouldn't be surprsing, but... it was also the year in which Jem Blythe was born! The election took place few weeks after his birth: "When Anne came downstairs again, the Island, as well as all Canada, was in the throes of a campaign preceding a general election." (AHoD).

So... according to this timeline, Walter was born a year later (1897), then the twins (1899), Shirley (1901) and Rilla (1903).

The point is... at the outbreak of the war, Walter would have been only 17 years old, the twins 15, Shirley 13, Rilla 11...

Shirley would have been too young to participate in the war and Walter would have barely turned nineteen at the time of the Battle of Flers-Courcelette in September of 1916...

Someone in one of my older posts noticed that puff sleeves fashion suggested that Anne of Green Gables took place in 1880s rather than 1870s... so it would make sense!

I wonder why Montgomery chose Rilla as her teenage heroine (according to the original chronology, Rilla should have been only 11 years old), while there were 15-year-old twins...

Can you imagine Nan and Di as the main characters of the war book? Two young girls at Queen's, trying to come to terms with rapidly changing world? Rilla and Shirley at Ingleside, growing closer in such trying times? Teenage boys - Jem and Walter - who had to choose if they wanted to sacrifice their life at even younger age - at eighteen? Walter, never reaching the age of twenty (or maybe - dare I hope - coming back home safely)? Anne and Gilbert in their 40s, trying to collect all the broken pieces that was once their family?

It would have been equally good, in my opinion. I wonder... why Montgomery felt she had to suddenly change a whole chronology?

Side note: of course, I love Rilla of Ingleside. But I am just curious... (Nan and Di of Ingleside would be a good book, too!).

@diario-de-gilbert-blythe @gogandmagog @pinkenamelheart @valancystirling48

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

That's a very nice observation. Of all the little miscalculations LMM made with dates that may be the one with most weight. If we follow the original timeline (Rilla turning 15 in 1914 as stated in RoI, making her year of birth 1899, the same year AoI starts, making Anne and Gilbert's wedding take place in 1890... making Anne's own year of birth be 1865), 1896 is a year the books don't cover, right between AHoD and AoI. It seems to me that Maud really wanted to include the plot regarding the election and Marshall Elliott's beard (can't blame her, it's a pretty nice plot), so maybe that played a part. And a book with the twins as protagonists would be just awesome. I'd really like to read that. The Queen's part of AoGG is so sped up, we barely get much of how the academy works and I for one am a sucker for these things.

the-moral-of-the-rose

I am glad that you found it interesting! Exactly, we have two different timelines - and the events described in Rilla of Ingleside are simply too important to ignore, so of course I agree that the second timeline is the major one. I believe that Montgomery altered it on purpose, to create a story about one girl, instead of two. Besides, she needed a girl who represented women on a "homefront" - who stayed home, instead of going away to study. And... she was just too tired with Anne at this point to choose her as a main character.

I think it would be very interesting to read about twins, too, but the book would have been totally different. I think Rilla symbolizes an "average" girl - the teenager who is smart, but not ambitious or academically gifted; who is pretty but a little insecure about some aspects of her appearance (in Rilla's case, her thinness), who is rather carefree and vain and imperfect.

Montgomery created Anne (and maybe Nan and Di in RV and RoI, too) so that the reader (mostly young girls) could aspire to be this way; ambitious, intelligent, clever, with high standards, deep and pure thoughts. Anne was like this from the very beginning, although it was, at first, "covered" by the layers of talking and temperamental spirit.

But Rilla (who indeed undergoes a huge personality change) never becomes another Anne. She represents what most women of the time were - loving, kind, brave, broken by war but somehow, also made stronger by it.

Rilla was supposed to be a symbol of girl who "kept faith". I believe that's why Montgomery chose the youngest and most spoilt of Anne's children (although of course, Rilla wasn't really spoilt) to make her relatable to most girls. Rilla is never going to get an education - she never aspires to become a great teacher or a writer - she isn't really ambitious. Maybe there is a message: you don't need BA to be brave or strong or kind. You don't need anything. All of us are like Rilla and all of us can become Rilla.

I do believe that a book set in the "first" timeline would be very interesting too and it could cover more than one pov: of Anne and Gilbert (parents afraid of the life of their sons), Nan and Di (teenage girls trying to keep normal, trying to keep learning while navigating the biggest change of their lives), Rilla and Shirley (growing up in the times of the war). Perhaps Montgomery even considered writing it this way - but decided against it? Tangled Web had been told from many povs, and each story is shortened and a little... weaker heard, in a way? Which is totally fine, because the best aspects of Tangled Web are comedy and a study of personalities, and both are delivered just fine. But maybe Montgomery felt that a war book would be stronger if it was focused on a single heroine?

Montgomery is known for playing with a timeline a little. For example, she set a timeline in Emily Climbs - a timeline that suggests war ought to happen in the years of Emily's Quest - but it somehow... isn't mentioned. Or even, doesn't seem to affect the lives of characters. The end of the series is just... timeless (as is a whole novel - The Blue Castle).

Last but not least - yes, Marshall Elliot shaving off his beard and cutting his hair after eighteen years is an epic scene!

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

Spot on. I think Rilla was a new for LMM, something of a challenge. We know a lot of the heroines she wrote were intelligent, imaginative and/or inclined to literature. So with Rilla she could do different character development in the very strenuous context of War. In the future she would do something similar with Pat of Silver Bush. So yeah, maybe Montgomery saw that with Nan and Di she would be doing more of the same stuff and wanted to make something different, which I think was a genius choice - althought I really like the twins and would love to read more of their life.

pinkenamelheart

Do you think Anne and Gilbert went further than kissing before getting married?

Yes, I think they went further too far this.

No I don't think they went too far with this

I'm undecided.

other

Voting ended onApr 25, 2024

I saw that there were different comments in the fandom regarding this situation. What do you think about this situation? You can share your ideas if you want.

Thank you to everyone who will vote. I will wait for the result with curiosity.

@diario-de-gilbert-blythe I'm very curious about your thoughts on this subject. I would be very happy if you shared it with us.

diario-de-gilbert-blythe

That's a very nice question, one I've asked myself and been asked by others quite a lot of times.

Not an easy one but we can shed light from some perspectives. Of course Anne and Gilbert were always described in the books as proper, religious people, albeit not with the stern, inhibited Victorian morality Rachel Lynde would be partial to. No, they're more open-minded and uninhibited - as young people are often depicted. And they know what they are. They're also (we must look from the biological side) a young couple deeply in love and attracted to each other. Would the Victorian morals of their upbringing be enough to hold them?

It's hard to know, but we can take a look at LMM's own life as an example. I had the chance to read some of her commented journals (great work by Mary Rubio). Maud was also brought up in a strict household but was quite forward in some ways. A lot of her fans already know she invited Herman Leard to her bedroom and they engaged in "preliminary lovemaking". We can only guess what she meant by that, but I think it provides a new context to the original question.

I tend to believe Gilbert and Anne could think the same way. Being a virgin bride would be as important to Anne as it was to LMM, but it can be argued that the couple could find ways to be intimate and still respect that wish.

A perhaps related question would be: was Anne Gilbert's first? A friend pointed out that young men frequently had experiences before marriage, and that it would not be hard for Gilbert to find that in a city like Kingsport. She believes it to be possible, althought it wouldn't change what he felt for Anne and what she meant to him. I don't see it that way. I don't think I could write that when I'm doing the Diaries. For me it is very meaningful that they're each other's firsts. Gilbert had loved Anne for years, and his desire and yearning for her would reach zenith when she finally accepted him. So maybe that's one more argument in favor of they going a little further than kissing before marriage?

We can only wonder. I respect the ones who believe they kept it Victorian-proper, but maybe I'm a little skeptical of that.