“Emily’s Spiritual Journey: Questing toward a Feminine Religion”
By: Kathleen Miller

L.M. Montgomery, the beloved Canadian children’s author, penned more than twenty novels and a large number of short stories. In 1908, she rose to fame with her novel Anne of Green Gables. At the age of seven, my best friend introduced me to Anne and to L.M. Montgomery, and while the friendship faded long ago, the Montgomery mania has remained. For fifteen years, over half my life, I read and reread Montgomery’s books, always amazed by her ability to capture the rural charm of her native Prince Edward Island and her knack for illuminating the lives, dreams, and romances of adolescent girls.

My work focuses on Montgomery’s Emily trilogy—Emily of New Moon (published in 1923), Emily Climbs (1925) and Emily’s Quest (1927)—the series of books that details Emily Byrd Starr’s journey from childhood to womanhood. In particular, I explore the idea of Emily’s religious quest in terms of courtship, doubled characters, and feminized landscape. I assert Emily’s development of a feminine religion that supports notions of female strength, authority, and creativity in her relationships with men and women, and in the development of her artistry. In so doing, I develop a means by which to place the Emily books in the general context of all of Montgomery’s work, as powerful and positive texts for young female readers, and comment on their import for readers of various ages—the Emily trilogy being her most mature texts and Emily being the most relevant heroine for adult readers.

In terms of courtship, I conclude Emily’s relationship with suitor Teddy Kent furthers her artistry and her notions of female equality in male/female relationships. Similarly, in terms of doubled female characters, Mrs. Kent, Ilse, and Emily’s mother illuminate the importance of female power and energy in relationships, religion, and art. In addition, Emily’s embracing feminized landscape furthers her conception of a feminine religion, enhances her artistry, and firmly links her to the soil of her beloved Prince Edward Island. Ultimately, I suggest Montgomery’s reinterpretation of Christianity in these books proves invaluable for young female readers. At a young age, these readers encounter a heroine who positions women in authoritative roles, supports feminine imagination and spirituality, and reasserts female creativity. I also assert the Emily trilogy as the most mature example of Montgomery’s writing; and posit Emily as the Montgomery heroine with whom modern adult women continue to identify.

Montgomery’s Emily has inspired generations of women, me among them, to be creative beings, to embrace the feminine spirit and to realize their own artistic and individual worth. These books not only shaped the woman I have become—they continue to inspire me. I came to my paper knowing the impact Montgomery’s novels had on my life; I now like to think I better understand the import they have on the lives of millions of female readers.

-back-