Later on, when Anne gets married, she has a dress with short sleeves that was a must-have in 1917, not in 1890s (“Interlude: ‘When did Anne. For example, the puffed-sleeved dresses were fashionable around 1907, not in 1870s. Unfortunately, Lucy Maud Montgomery mixed some facts from the times she was writing the novels, 1908-1939 (“Lucy Maud Montgomery”). Hence the timeframe for the series is 1870s- 1910s. Knowing that, it is possible to trace the beginning of the series, Anne of Green Gables, when Anne is eleven years old, to the late 1870s (“Interlude: ‘When Did Anne. The only date mentioned is the beginning of the Great War, 1914, when Rilla, Anne’s daughter, is fourteen. As Margrit Eichler claims, even now most of the Canadian women are considered “a reserve army of labor” and do not get an equal treatment or pay (416).Īnother issue is the time the novels are set in. (Ward 543)Īdditionally, the Canadian suffrage campaign was much more toned down in comparison to the American, British, and French ones (Millete). Cleverdon reports, “never nourished a suffrage organization of any kind,” with the result that Island women did not receive electoral recognition until five years after the other English-speaking provinces. The fact that the books are set in Prince Edward Island is a clue to solve some of the problems posed in the previous paragraph:Įverywhere the major foe was apathy, not just of the legislators but of women too and that happy hunting ground of political scientists, Prince Edward Island, might be taken as setting the Canadian record. Lynde wants women to have the right to vote ( AoGG 143), but she criticizes Anne for her educational plans (281). Other characters also do not seem to be interest11Įd in women suffrage Mrs.

Even her political views are rather troubling, for example, she is conservative (111).

Anne Shirley, the heroine, is rather “girly”-she is interested in fashion ( AoGG 24), is vain (216), likes sentimental fiction (208), and her life choices are rather typical for a woman of her times, as evident from the fact that she takes up a job as a teacher (293), gets married ( AHoD), and has children (108). Anne of Green Gables series does not appear as obviously feminist.

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