Exploring the Romantic Themes in AWAE 3

Just for the sake of relating the romantic themes in the various storylines especially this season.

A little context- Romanticism -an artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 1700s and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's  expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms  of  classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions. [Definition source: thefreedictionary]

·        Individuality and personal freedom- Anne and Diana are the main specimens for this theme, Anne beautifully embracing her uniqueness and profound individuality whereas Diana getting acquainted with how liberating freedom can be. Romanticism thrives on the sublime individualistic expression and the trust in one’s emotion and subjective experience. Like to reach a certain level of wisdom/maturity, the AWAE characters go through different paths unique to their temperament. Ex: Anne and Gilbert

·        Nature as a teacher- Nature and enlightenment have gone hand in hand for Anne throughout the course of the series. She draws inspiration from her surroundings and has essentially learnt liberalism and philosophy from nature as well as deeply resonating subjects like conservation and environmentalism as well as outdoor recreation and natural appreciation. Miss Stacey taking the class for nature walks is the quintessence of this theme.

·        Spiritual/supernatural elements- Anne espousing spirituality whilst not doing away with traditional forms of worship is a recurring idea in AWAE in the seasons so far. The pagan festival of Beltane fire celebration hit right home for me (a polytheist leaning towards spirituality) The Beltane festival is influenced by contemporary witchcraft on the surface level but is more than that. Also, Jerry quoting Frankenstein for Diana further tries to cite the supernatural elements from the book.

·        Interest in the Past- Dwelling in the bygones is a common occurrence in romantic literature. Like romanticism was literally an answer to all the modernism and industrialization happening around the second half of 19th century. Reliving fond memories and in Anne’s case- trying to find more about her heritage, to find her roots, her eagerness in learning about anything that could’ve been hers like the book on Scotland is the embodiment of this trope.

·        Celebration of the simple life/ interest in the rustic and pastoral life- Avonlea is a pretty simple village far away from the fast cities of that time period, Miss Stacey noted this when she arrived saying she liked the leisurely and relaxed lifestyle. Shots of Matthew and Jerry tending to the farm, Matthew with the radish and the typical farm life are not merely filler shots- they celebrate the simple life of those times. The pastoral or the rural life creates a calm, peaceful and uncorrupted existence. The harvest in s2 showed Shirley-Cuthberts hard at work yet looked serene and one with nature. In the next episodes, we’ll see them all planting for the winter so that’ll be fun.

·        One sided/ opinionated- Predisposed and one-sided views, sometimes an unreliable narrator have often been used as protagonist in romance novels. Not saying that AOGG or AWAE do it, but many of the characters tend to think in black and white in certain situations, like with Anne- Marilla when they argued, Anne- Gilbert in the train scene, Gilbert-Winnie in almost each outing imo. But that’s a good thing for it allows us to measure their intent and depth in those situations. Also, I’d like to point out that s3 episodes don’t seem to feel more coherent than they should I guess, bc they show us different aspects of the story one at a time. Afterall, each chapter of a book delves in different issues this way and by the end a good book always lets the reader stitch the tapestry themselves rather than the other way around.

·        Idealized Women- What’s a romantic novel without classic, archetypal and empowered female characters? Women like Miss Stacey and Winnie (please for the love of God, let her be that way) fall in this category, women like Marilla and Mrs. Barry are empowered too, just in their own ways. Anne and Diana are women in the making, all the girls are. Apart from our Bosom friends- Jane and Ruby fascinate me most. Just for the fact that her “feminist” mother prefers that her daughters receive the highest education but doesn’t want them actually utilizing it, I don’t think Jane will follow the conventional path after earning her degree- she doesn’t seem to be interested in boys or girls for that matter, takes pride in her great intellect. Ruby has a long way to go in this regard and even if she doesn’t, that not a bad thing. A happily married life does not hinder one’s liberal values nor border on conservationism – LMM showed us just that with Anne’s life. Also, Mary and Bash dreaming of a full life for Delphine with all the educational opportunities.

If you’ve read this far- thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts and anything you’d like to add or say differently.