of Emily and Anne
May. 21st, 2005 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wisdomeagle[spoilers for the whole Emily series, and expecting that everyone is familiar with the Anne series]
I just finished up rereading the Emily of New Moon series, with Emily's Quest, which is by far the weakest of the three books and not just because of the deplorable number of dashes and sentence fragments -- though those made it nearly impossible to read in places.
I like Emily but cannot understand her fault since it isn't mine. I'm not a proud Murry and never will be. Thus, since pride -- pride and jealousy -- causes most of the misunderstanding in Quest, it's hard for me to stop just yelling at the book, "Emily, stop it! Stop being such so stupid!"
The Emily books, I recalled, were darker -- and they are, after a manner of speaking. Emily's second sight, and the burning of the book, and the strength of the emotions -- especially jealousy, Dean's and Mrs. Kent's. There's tragedy in the Anne books -- especially in Anne's House of Dreams -- but it's not the twisted bitterness of Emily. Even Leslie gets her happy ending.
I think what really bothers me is Dean... I love Dean. I probably didn't the first time I read the books, but Dean is one of those characters who fits a kink perfectly. He's got the physical deformity, the wit and sarcasm and crippled soul, and his fault, that hideous streak of jealousy, feels so real and rich and wonderful to me. I love Dean and wanted him to win Emily all along.
I didn't understand why she loved Teddy. Didn't even get a really good sense of who Teddy was, not in the last book. I suppose in the second book, I could see him as a sweet young boy; LM dove into his pov once, the night he rescued Emily from the church, and he seemed like a sweet, practical young man who did love Emily an awful lot and was embarrassed by his mother. And he draws, sure, but -- who is Teddy? He seems so terribly empty. We get Ilse's view of him as a somewhat conceited young man whose head is turned more than a little by the flattery of his admirers -- and it's clear he's been jilted and that's too bad -- of course, I'm not sure exactly who Gilbert is, either, though I seem to recall him as more fleshed-out than Teddy is, more than just a one-note character. I know Teddy is an artist, but he doesn't seem like an artist to me, not the way Emily is drawn to be, not even the way Owen Ford was an artist. Drawing seems to be something that Teddy just does for fun, and we don't get to see inside his head at all.
I honestly don't see what Emily sees in him, unless perhaps he's a practical, down-to-earth, entirely good-hearted yet still very intelligent boy/man who balances the weird, queer mystic-nature of Emily's. But why's he an artist, then? I think there's something in Teddy that Emily sees that we never do, which isn't good storytelling.
I'm torn on whether Emily's Quest or Anne of the Island is a better book. Of course it's been awhile since I've read the Anne books, two or three years... I think on the whole Quest is just a poorly crafted book, with huge time-gaps and no neat outline, and of course Island is better on that front. But I can't help feeling that the darkness in the first half of Quest -- the burning of the book, the injury, Dean sitting with her through those long months, her quiet decision to marry him, that strange, eerie, sometimes-happy summer of theirs -- is a phenomenal core. And I love the twisty mystery of it. I do. But those sentence fragments!
I feel such terrible pity for Dean Priest -- I love Emily/Dean -- I have made up my mind I will write Emily/Dean for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
xgenchallenge, which is due in just a few days (*headdesk* -- at least the kink/cliche fic is written!). It seems to lend itself so well to a five things fic.
But Anne is and always will be my girl. I think she grows a lot more naturally than Emily does -- but then, there is something decidedly unnatural and uncanny about Emily, which is why she is so fascinating. Anne is clever and sweet and scrappy and grows up to still get into scrapes but to be such a good mother... and she's not an artist. I think LMM tries, sometimes, to write Anne-scrapes for Emily, and they just don't work, because Emily's faults and failings and whole psychological make-up are so different from Emily's.
First one to write Emily/Anne fic gets a shiny gold star.
I also think half the descriptions could have been cut from them, particularly the last one, particularly the descriptions of the weather, but then, I've always bored easily with descriptions of pretty places.
I can't decide whether I love Aunt Elizabeth or Marilla more -- or Matthew or Cousin Jimmy -- or even Ilse or Diana. I feel as if I've known the Anne characters all my life, but sometimes the Emily characters feel more vital, more richly drawn or at least conceived... it's because Emily is an artist and Anne is just an imaginative girl who grows up to be a lovely woman.
[Poll #498432]
I just finished up rereading the Emily of New Moon series, with Emily's Quest, which is by far the weakest of the three books and not just because of the deplorable number of dashes and sentence fragments -- though those made it nearly impossible to read in places.
I like Emily but cannot understand her fault since it isn't mine. I'm not a proud Murry and never will be. Thus, since pride -- pride and jealousy -- causes most of the misunderstanding in Quest, it's hard for me to stop just yelling at the book, "Emily, stop it! Stop being such so stupid!"
The Emily books, I recalled, were darker -- and they are, after a manner of speaking. Emily's second sight, and the burning of the book, and the strength of the emotions -- especially jealousy, Dean's and Mrs. Kent's. There's tragedy in the Anne books -- especially in Anne's House of Dreams -- but it's not the twisted bitterness of Emily. Even Leslie gets her happy ending.
I think what really bothers me is Dean... I love Dean. I probably didn't the first time I read the books, but Dean is one of those characters who fits a kink perfectly. He's got the physical deformity, the wit and sarcasm and crippled soul, and his fault, that hideous streak of jealousy, feels so real and rich and wonderful to me. I love Dean and wanted him to win Emily all along.
I didn't understand why she loved Teddy. Didn't even get a really good sense of who Teddy was, not in the last book. I suppose in the second book, I could see him as a sweet young boy; LM dove into his pov once, the night he rescued Emily from the church, and he seemed like a sweet, practical young man who did love Emily an awful lot and was embarrassed by his mother. And he draws, sure, but -- who is Teddy? He seems so terribly empty. We get Ilse's view of him as a somewhat conceited young man whose head is turned more than a little by the flattery of his admirers -- and it's clear he's been jilted and that's too bad -- of course, I'm not sure exactly who Gilbert is, either, though I seem to recall him as more fleshed-out than Teddy is, more than just a one-note character. I know Teddy is an artist, but he doesn't seem like an artist to me, not the way Emily is drawn to be, not even the way Owen Ford was an artist. Drawing seems to be something that Teddy just does for fun, and we don't get to see inside his head at all.
I honestly don't see what Emily sees in him, unless perhaps he's a practical, down-to-earth, entirely good-hearted yet still very intelligent boy/man who balances the weird, queer mystic-nature of Emily's. But why's he an artist, then? I think there's something in Teddy that Emily sees that we never do, which isn't good storytelling.
I'm torn on whether Emily's Quest or Anne of the Island is a better book. Of course it's been awhile since I've read the Anne books, two or three years... I think on the whole Quest is just a poorly crafted book, with huge time-gaps and no neat outline, and of course Island is better on that front. But I can't help feeling that the darkness in the first half of Quest -- the burning of the book, the injury, Dean sitting with her through those long months, her quiet decision to marry him, that strange, eerie, sometimes-happy summer of theirs -- is a phenomenal core. And I love the twisty mystery of it. I do. But those sentence fragments!
I feel such terrible pity for Dean Priest -- I love Emily/Dean -- I have made up my mind I will write Emily/Dean for
xgenchallenge, which is due in just a few days (*headdesk* -- at least the kink/cliche fic is written!). It seems to lend itself so well to a five things fic.But Anne is and always will be my girl. I think she grows a lot more naturally than Emily does -- but then, there is something decidedly unnatural and uncanny about Emily, which is why she is so fascinating. Anne is clever and sweet and scrappy and grows up to still get into scrapes but to be such a good mother... and she's not an artist. I think LMM tries, sometimes, to write Anne-scrapes for Emily, and they just don't work, because Emily's faults and failings and whole psychological make-up are so different from Emily's.
First one to write Emily/Anne fic gets a shiny gold star.
I also think half the descriptions could have been cut from them, particularly the last one, particularly the descriptions of the weather, but then, I've always bored easily with descriptions of pretty places.
I can't decide whether I love Aunt Elizabeth or Marilla more -- or Matthew or Cousin Jimmy -- or even Ilse or Diana. I feel as if I've known the Anne characters all my life, but sometimes the Emily characters feel more vital, more richly drawn or at least conceived... it's because Emily is an artist and Anne is just an imaginative girl who grows up to be a lovely woman.
[Poll #498432]
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Date: 2005-05-22 03:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2005-05-22 06:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-22 05:16 am (UTC)It's interesting that I found myself disappointed in the later books in *both* series. I never even finished Anne's House of Dreams or anything after it because I felt betrayed that Anne gave up her more artistic dreams to just marry and have kids (as much as I loved Gilbert and their romance), and Emily's parade of suitors in both Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest drove me nuts.
I did like Dean...but his possessiveness kinda creeped me out (and I never forgave him for lying and telling Emily her book wasn't good, especially after she destroyed it), and I remember adoring Teddy. I don't recall clearly enough to define him as a one or three dimensional character, but I'll admit that a lot of my attachment to them as a couple came because of the bond between them. I'm a sucker for telepathy fic, especially between a couple or potential couple, be it fanfic or original.
I think it's safe to say that Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables were definitely the strongest of their respective series.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-22 06:38 am (UTC)It's always bothered me that Anne never published anything much beyond a sketch or two, and decided that was all her talent amounted to -- but then, you know, maybe that was all her talent amounted to. We don't really know. *I* wish she'd stayed a school teacher, but I suppose that's one of those things that Just Wasn't Done. I wonder how much of LMM ended up in both girls...
I think it's safe to say that Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables were definitely the strongest of their respective series.
I think you're probably right.
I did like Dean...but his possessiveness kinda creeped me out (and I never forgave him for lying and telling Emily her book wasn't good, especially after she destroyed it),
His posessiveness is distinctly creepy, and I think that's what I love about him, because he's deeply flawed and yet still, I think, a good man at heart. And there aren't many characters like that in LMM's books. They've got flaws, but they're such cheery, lovable flaws, it's easy to love the characters. I think Leslie's another one who's flawed to the core -- and Teddy's mother, with her insane jealousy, which always creeped me out more than Dean's.
and I remember adoring Teddy. I don't recall clearly enough to define him as a one or three dimensional character, but I'll admit that a lot of my attachment to them as a couple came because of the bond between them.
You know, I remember you saying something along those lines not too long ago, which is one of the reasons I decided to reread the books, and sure enough, the bond was there, and I really desperately *wanted* to like them as a couple... I think it's that there weren't really enough of their happy, innocent times together. LMM summarized those rather too much, which left me with the uneasy feeling that I didn't know what they saw in each other. What did they talk about, and so forth. It frustrated me.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-22 01:54 pm (UTC)I will agree that Ted is not exactly a 3-dim character. I was always rooting for Emily/Perry, personally. Now there's some hot smex just waiting to be created!
>> random wars! <<
Aunt Elizabeth v. Marilla:
Elizabeth, mostly because of the fever-dream that Emily has, when Emily gets Elizabeth to agree to dredge out that well, and even though Elizabeth thinks it's ridiculous, she does it, because she promised. That always made a deep impression on me.
Matthew v. Cousin Jimmy:
Matthew. Because damn it, Anne just needed him a lot more. Matthew is one of the sweetest men ever to grace the pages of fiction. I absolutely love how he stresses out about the puffed-sleeves but is so determined to get a dress with them for Anne anyway.
Ilse v. Diana:
Ilse is more interesting, but I think Diana is the much better friend. Diana is the kind of person you can stay friends with your whole life, and feel comfortable knowing she will always love you and think about you. Ilse is too tempestuous, too flighty, too unreliable... and that just gets worse as she gets older. Things that were charming when she was a girl become very annoying in Emily's Quest. I think she's the kind of person that you grow away from with time, and you can certainly see that Emily has outgrown her by the end of that last book.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-22 05:01 pm (UTC)Emily/Perry too -- but she really is too much of a snob for him!
You know, that moment also sells me on Aunt Elizabeth. Because a Murry doesn't lie, and that's... that's why, for all their faults, I love that clan.
I'm still not sure on Ilse vs. Diana. I *heart* Diana, but she's just so... uninspired. I think Anne's outgrown her just as much as Emily has Ilse, but is too nice to realize it.
I didn't mention Mr. Carpenter anywhere... he's my favoritest (at least in the Emily books).
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-27 11:59 am (UTC)i'm going to dredge up and finally read Emily.