Let's Get Real

Folding laundry is much more fun with a good show to watch, and my latest choice has been the Netflix version of Anne of Green Gables. The first few episodes have brought me back to when my bosom friend Valentina, a true kindred spirit, and I talked endlessly of Anne (with an E) Shirley and her spunky ways. Years ago, we got lost in the pages of L.M. Montgomery's books, and later the VHS taped series, when we imagined living in idyllic Avonlea. One might be surprised to know that we were in high school and still wearing flowers in our hair to harness Cordelia's magic. Anne's adventures--confronting bullies at school, preparing for an oratorical contest, crushing on Gilbert against advice--offered a simpler approach to the drama we experienced as teenage girls. It was comforting to know it was natural to fall into the depths of despair, but even better to know we could face it together like Anne and Diana.

This remake, though, wouldn't have calmed our angst as it offers much deeper insight into Anne's plight before joining Matthew and Marilla. As an adult, I'm intrigued by this interpretation that presumes Anne was exposed to serious and unsavory things that appear in frightful flashbacks. It's no wonder that in so many years in the asylums and foster care, she would suffer abuse along the way. At sixteen, I didn't suspect that Anne's nervous talking and fantastical imagination was her way of coping, but it absolutely makes sense. 

Whether this a "perversion of Anne's story" as some complain or a necessary step in our quest to understand the human condition, I'll keep watching before I decide where I stand. Meanwhile, those baskets of laundry appear a lot less daunting.