Recognizing Harm

Rainbow Valley, Chapters 17-25

Kindred Spirits,

This week’s reading was a hard one. I was jolted by a moment of racism and harmful language in the text and I have sat with it in discomfort all week. It’s painful to come across language like this, especially in a book many of us love. But we must be willing to engage critically with the art we love. This week I want to hold space in this weekly read-along to recognize, react, and process the complexity of the harm of such language within stories that we love.

In a community like the one of Rainbow Valley—so invested in saying the proper thing and minding social appearances—the casualness of the racism is even more striking. It reminds us how deeply these prejudices were woven into the cultural fabric, not only in the story’s setting but in Montgomery’s own worldview. Throughout the series, we’ve already seen xenophobia and favoritism toward Canadians, along with derogatory portrayals of French and Indigenous people.

How do we hold onto the beauty and beloved characters of this series while also recognizing—and naming—the prejudice within it? I don’t ask this as a way of simply condemning the time in which the book was written, or using the historical context as an excuse, but as a prompt of reading with integrity.

The Netflix adaptation Anne with an E offers one response. It intentionally expands the world of Avonlea to include the people and the stories that have been erased or stereotyped in the original series. Creator Moira Walley-Beckett shared that she was troubled by the lack of diversity in the book, “especially since Canada is such a diverse nation, both then and now.” Her version brings in LGBTQIA+ characters, explores themes of discrimination, and addresses darker historical realities like the Indian residential school system. In doing so, it doesn’t pretend those histories didn’t exist—it names them and provides visibility, while also giving representation to the many diverse identities, portrayed with depth and intersectionality. If you have not yet watched this series, I highly recommend it.

As I read this week’s chapters, I held all of this in mind: the love I have for the story, and the harm woven into its telling.

Turning to plot highlights; Walter sets aside his poetry for one afternoon and takes part in his first fight. He is standing up to Dan Reese who insulted Faith as well as Anne. Walter is all at once frightened, disgusted, and excited by the fight itself. Faith is devastated when Aunt Martha kills her beloved rooster, Adam. 🐓 She finds comfort in the unexpected place of Miss Rosemary West, who she runs into at Rainbow Valley. Rosemary even offers her one of her own canaries for comfort in her grief.

Later, Mr Meredith proposes to Rosemary, who hesitates and asks for a few days to think it over. Ten years earlier, she’d made a promise to her lonely sister Ellen never to marry, and now that promise weighs heavily on her heart. Though she’s found unexpected love, she turns him down—leaving them both quietly heartbroken.

Meanwhile the children have tasked themselves with improving their behavior through the Good Conduct club where they set punishments for themselves anytime they do wrong. The section ends with yet another delightfully long-winded confession from Faith after another misstep—this time for going to church without stockings!

This week’s reading was full of tender moments and troubling ones, playfulness and pain. I’m reminded that part of the joy of reading, especially as a community, is learning how to hold complexity. We don’t have to abandon the stories we love, but we also don’t need to excuse or ignore the harm they carry.

Instead, we follow the footsteps of Anne and we read with open hearts, we question, and we reimagine a world in more inclusive, honest, and hopeful ways.

Thank you for walking through all of this together—with care, curiosity, and compassion. I’m grateful for this shared journey.

Thank you for reading and joining me on this read-along of Anne of Green Gables!

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Your bosom friend,

Bri