In class last Thursday we discussed Anne's passionate nature in great length. This made me think about how Lucy Maud Montgomery's character Anne Shirley and Charlotte Bronte's character Jane Eyre are very similar.
Both young ladies are very much alone in the world at the onset of each novel, Anne as an orphan, and Jane in an abusive home living with extended relatives. Both wish to better themselves, and choose to do so through education, in order to eventually find a place to belong and call home.
A large obstacle both young ladies must learn to control is their passionate and fiery natures. Anne Shirley is an extremely passionate character. In her youth she is completely unable to control passionate outbursts as is seen when she hits Gilbert over the head with her chalkboard slate, or when she inadvertently gets Diana drunk and believes her life is not worth living when their friendship is for a short time forbidden. Anne also stubbornly refuses to forgive Gilbert after a comment on her red hair and holds a grudge for years to come. This unrestrained passion is paralleled in Jane Eyre. Jane attacks her cousin, speaks harshly to her aunt, and states that she would rather be "trampled by horses" then live without love. Both girls learn through different female mentors that they must control this passion in order to grow.
Each young lady also puts a high value on education. Both understand that they must be able to provide for themselves and see education as one of the only means of doing so. Each girl excels at their lessons and end up as teachers in order to provide for themselves. Although both girls come from lower socio-economic beginnings, through higher education they are able to become mentally equal to those around them.
There are tons of other similarities between these two novels that I will not discuss, but I wonder if perhaps Charlotte Bronte was an influence on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s writing?
