Previously: Mellie and Olivia on Scandal.
How does one even begin to write about Anne and Diana? Anne of Green Gables (the book and the film) is a sacred text for a certain type of bookish woman. There are rituals and invocations; there are chants to recite (Carrots, bosom friends, puffed sleeves; carrots, bosom friends, puffed sleeves); there is the Holy Land of Prince Edward Island. “Femslash” is the first Google auto-fill after searching “Anne Diana.” Megan Followes herself ships them.
(A brief aside about romantic friendships and Boston marriages: they existed. They provided a lovely cultural context! For a modern example, see She’s My Person: Christina Yang, Meredith Grey, and The Real Love Story of Grey’s Anatomy. Sometimes the existence of romantic friendships is tossed about to explain away the possibility of historical same-sex relationships, which I find both silly and boring. See also: We’re Just Really Good Friends (I Mean I Love Her But I Don’t Love Love Her Or Anything): The Story of Mallory’s First Girlfriend.)
One of the problems (“problems”) with non-canonical slash pairings is deciding what to do with the original love interest. I have no answers here. I like Gil terribly well (let us all agree to leave the strange old man from Anne of Avonlea well out of it). He says “sorry” in a deeply and pleasantly Canadian fashion. He dresses like a lesbian, which is a quality I find very charming in a man. He and Anne care for each other very much; if I could create two Annes, one for Gilbert and one for Diana, I would.
But since I cannot, I must throw my lot in with Anne/Diana. Anne loves Gilbert — he is smart and wry and will always get in math fights with her for school medals — but he does not inspire in her the sort of ardency and longing that Diana does. With Gilbert, Anne is content to be peacefully and quietly loved. With Diana, Anne becomes a gentleman:
(It does not hurt, by the way, that Anne spends a great deal of the latter half of Green Gables looking quietly attractive in menswear.) The way Anne pursues Diana bears all of the hallmarks of courtly love: she is instantly smitten by the dark hair and quiet manner of her lady, she pursues her recklessly and vehemently. When they are separated (damn that cordial; damn Diana’s weak lips and weaker liver), she grows sick and pale and only half herself. She finds tokens and signals and signs to keep in constant contact with Diana. She is the fervent Tristan to Diana’s rapturous Isolde.
Diana, for her part, loves Anne unceasingly and without needing to understand her. She is not good in school the way Anne and Gil are; she is not a writer; she is completely and perfectly herself. She supports Anne’s work wholeheartedly, even if she does not always grasp the finer points of it (the baking soda contest comes to mind). They cling to each other. They improve each other. Through Diana Anne finds hope of refinement and of smoothing her more impulsive edges; through Anne Diana is made bold and wild and happy. They walk by the sea together. Anne walks by the sea with no one else.
Anne’s sick and desperate face upon hearing that Diana is marrying the meek and worthless Fred (I love Bruce, but you must admit he was not fit to untie Anne’s shoelaces) says everything. Diana goes through with the wedding, but she kisses Anne first. Anne was always first. 
Tags: anne of green gables, books, boston marriage, femslash fridays, lgbt, recurring series about lesbians
<:( Oh man. “Anne was always first.”
I used to live in P.E.I. Friendliest people ON EARTH. Then I met these people from Newfoundland and they were all, “Ugh, people here are so rude!” Oh, you gentle people. You would get eaten alive in Ontario.
This piece is great! I remember having passionate friendships like that too. Let’s just say, I’ve never promised any partner of mine to love each other until death, but I have with several of my bosom buddies.
I definitely promised one of my elementary school friends that if she died I would kill myself. I think I was a little more scarily passionate about that friendship than she was.
I actually clapped my hands in glee when I saw this. Anne’s horror over Diana getting married is glorious.
THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME KIND OF ERROR: No link is provided to your seminal Yang/Grey essay, and I will not rest until it is presented for my consumption.
ESSAY FORTHCOMING
I would also like to read this, please: We’re Just Really Good Friends (I Mean I Love Her But I Don’t Love Love Her Or Anything): The Story of Mallory’s First Girlfriend.)
Possible alternatives for Gilbert:
a) He can marry ME.
b) OT3 with Anne in the middle. Diana thought Gilbert was awfully handsome! Gil and Di can have a peacable companionship and love Anne together.
I’ll allow for option a, but I have to confess that I’m very intrigued by option b.
I rate all of my romantic relationships by how Anne-ish they make me feel, but now I’m going to have to consider whether my beaux incite sufficient Diana-ish feelings! Although, I think by the time Diana started having babies, Anne just saw her as a plump sweet housecat, no? And then along comes Leslie, yowza! Firsts are overrated.
I think “plump sweet housecat” is a little harsh…Anne grew up and “moved on” from Diana’s fairly limited sphere, but, being loving and loyal as she was, always cherished their love and friendship.
Yeah, like, Diana named her daughter after Anne! THEIR LOVE IS REAL.
(as is Anne and Leslie’s love, and Anne and Phil’s. and I guess Anne and Gilbert’s but whatever)
Is it strange that one of the reasons I want to name my child Katherine is because of Anne? “Katherine with a “K” is so much more alluring than Catherine with a “C.””
Katherine Josephine, because of Jo March, obviously.
Oh my god, perfect. Your future(?) daughter is the luckiest.
Pregnant now, hoping for a girl. We find out next month. A bookish boy will be welcome also.
My son is bookish-he is the best! We are reading The Night Circus right now and it is so fun to have a son who is a serious reading man . My daughter is a reader too. As the twig is bent…
Oh, Jo. Little women shaped me SO MUCH. Need to do hard work! Need to not complain! Need to do good deeds in quiet! Love academic types with accents! Fantasize about an office in an attic! (Without the rats.)
Oh my gosssssh JO. JOOOOOOOO. I loved her so much.
It’s like I’m wrapping a talisman around her, hoping she’ll become a bookish tomboy like her mother.
THOSE ARE MY NAMES! THEY ARE GREAT NAMES! Only I have a C, for A Saint.
KathArine Josephine and you can work in a KHep reference as well (the original Jo March, and the best)
I am Katherine (well, KathArine, because Hepburn), and that made me happy every single time. A+ for Katherine-with-a-K. (Call her Kate, though. We need more Kates.)
I’ve been trying to come up with good literary middle names for my current fetus (we’re not sure if it’s a girl, but we’ve already got a boy’s name, so we need to get prepared). All the ones that really mean a lot to me – Francie, Dorothy, Ramona – aren’t great middle name material. But I LOVE Josephine, and might very well steal it. I’d worry about how long it is (Evalina Josephine), but I was Katharine Elizabeth and I managed just fine, thank you.
We are planning to call her Kat, but one of the great things about that name (I think) is that it has so many nickname possibilities, so she can choose to be Kate or Katie or Kathy or Kat or whatever! Or maybe she will be Jo.
I would love to see Josephine make a comeback. The more the merrier!
I’ve never had the Green Gables love so many people do, perhaps because I didn’t read it at the right age. I liked Anne well enough, but there wasn’t that instant recognition of YES THIS IS ME so many of my peers had. (For that, I had Tamora Pierce’s Alanna and Lloyd Alexander’s Vesper Holly.)
That said, even though I was young and not really thinking about sex or sexual orientation (I doubt I knew what gay or bisexual were, or that they were really possibilities), I read the book fully expecting Anne and Diana to get married and live happily ever after. They were so very obviously in love!
If Anne was not your thing, you may want to read the Emily books. Emily is a little darker and more withholding. Her character evolves much more slowly and subtly throughout the books. (I feel like I’m describing wine?)
Seconding this. I like Anne ok, but Emily is the greatest. She’s so flawed! Creepy Dean! Hints of the supernatural! Mr. Carpenter!
Yes! I actually think that creepy Dean may have made a big difference for me. I’m never interested in real-life Gilberts, because real-life Deans are so much more interesting. (I am not thrilled about the whole Teddy situation.)
I married a real-life Gilbert and didn’t read the Emily books til I grew up, so I have a softer spot for Anne. But Emily’s personality is so interesting, and I remain weirdly fascinated by real-life Deans, so there’s that. Teddy and his shenanigans and his whole Ridiculous Mom Situation drove me absolutely bonkers.
Oooh, I’d love to see an Ilse/Emily femslash–it’s such a different dynamic from Anne/Diana. Remember when they go bathing in their petticoats together and cause a scandal? Plus, the old John House, and sleeping in a haystack together, and heated argument after heated argument.
Yes! I feel like Emily and Ilse were more evenly matched, intellectually, than Anne and Diana. That would be so interesting.
Ooh! The Emily/Ilse thing is doubly interesting when you put her faux friendship with Rhoda Stuart, who swore eternal love and devotion only to stab her in the back. After that, when she befriends Ilse, she vows never to make such overtures again. It makes their relationship that much more fascinating.
Thanks for the recommendation! I actually wonder if I wouldn’t appreciate Anne of Green Gables MORE now as an adult, when I get more enjoyment out of quieter and more emotional stuff and don’t necessarily need swords and Grand Adventures.
You will realize that you missed all the war stuff as a child and then SOB through Rilla of Ingleside, of all things. (I may have done this in July.)
OMG Rilla of Ingleside! I only read it once, when I was wee, and was too traumatized to read it again. Like, my brain has actually blocked my memories of that book. All I remember is that someone died and it BROKE me.
(just catching up on last week’s posts now)
Read it again! I’m re-reading the entire series as an adult (well, okay as a kid I never got past Anne of Avonlea) and I tear up at least ten times at each one.
I need to watch this now–is it on the internet or am I going to have to go to my parents’ house and dig up the VHS?
“With Diana, Anne becomes a gentleman.” Now to reread the books and LOVE THAT.
I’ve been waiting my whole life for this article. I had no idea how much I needed this article. I can’t even begin to guess at my favorite part (Gil dressing as a lesbian? Tristan and Isolde references?), but I know that “They walk by the sea together. Anne walks by the sea with no one else.” made me actually cry at my desk at my grown up work job.
“I’ve dreamed of meeting her all my life.”
Anne and Diana are a better couple than Anne and Gilbert. I’ve always resented Gilbert and Fred for separating Anne and Diana, and I’m so glad someone was able to put all my angst and resentful emotions into real human words.
You guys, I read Anne of Green Gables ’cause my gran forced me to. Literally. She wouldn’t let me have any other books the summer I visited with her until I finished Anne. Because she REALLY REALLY REALLY loves the series.
I’m thinking I might send her this, but also I don’t want to send her to her grave you know?
Also this is my new favorite recurring item on the internet
SWOON. That is all.
“Diana, for her part, loves Anne unceasingly and without needing to understand her. She is not good in school the way Anne and Gil are; she is not a writer; she is completely and perfectly herself. She supports Anne’s work wholeheartedly, even if she does not always grasp the finer points of it (the baking soda contest comes to mind).”
This is one of the really interesting aspects of the Anne-Diana relationship. It’s made clear that while Diana loves Anne, she doesn’t really get her a lot of the time. And, especially in the early books, Anne’s often pretty willing to write people off if she doesn’t feel like they are in on her particular world view. But it’s true; Anne falls hard for Diana immediately (largely because Diana looks the way Anne wishes she herself looked) and basically does the romantic crush thing where she projects a lot of character traits on Diana that Diana doesn’t really have. Diana’s not totally sure what’s going on but gets swept up in the adulation. Gradually they figure out how to have a real relationship based on who they really are, but there is that classic idealization/projection thing that kicks everything off.
Think of where Anne is coming from, too, when she first meets Diana. 11 years of rejection and drudgery, taking care of other people’s children and being treated like a useful piece of furniture. Then a glimmer of fellow feeling in Marilla, who is too proper and repressed (at least at first) to appreciate Anne’s imagination and spirit. And the unconditional love and admiration from Matthew, which is great, but maybe not enough? It’s not surprising that, since Diana is a conventionally pretty, conventionally raised girl, Anne idealizes her and projects a lot onto her.
I loved, loved this piece. I read these (and read, and re-read this series – when my now-ex-husband moved out last year, I pulled all of these out to read because they are a comfort and remind me of when I was younger and ow ow ow love didn’t hurt yet) and always thought that Anne and Diana loved each other like Gil loved Anne.
In my heart, Anne is a bisexual. I thought she & Gilbert were “meant and made for each other” to quote Rachel Lynde (!) but I also think now that she needed that first love with Diana, and after that flame stopped burning quite so brightly, Anne and Diana settled into a warm and friendly relationship like I always wish I COULD have with my exes, but can’t seem to.
“Anne’s sick and desperate face upon hearing that Diana is marrying the meek and worthless Fred (I love Bruce, but you must admit he was not fit to untie Anne’s shoelaces) says everything.”
Uh…who is Bruce? Am I missing something?
Also, I’m happy to leave out the “strange old man” from the TV show, but let’s talk Roy Gardner. I always imagined him as richer and more effete than Gilbert. Kind of like Cecil vs. George in Room With a View.
Bruce McCulloch! From KITH! He plays Fred!
Oh man, I had totally forgotten that. Oops. You can tell that I saw the TV show decades ago, but re-read the books last year.
WHAT?? OMG I had no idea. I only watched the movie once, years and years ago and long before I knew about KITH. That just seems so WEIRD.
Dave Foley is also in it, though only briefly. Because in Canada, we only have five actors, and they are all also Kids in the Hall.
I actually sort of picture Roy as a male Diana, which is interesting in the context of this conversation. Dashing, dark hair, tending towards a general thickening as he gets older. The person Anne thinks she should be attracted to, but isn’t. I think of him as robust, not effete.
That is very interesting! And, like Diana, Roy is sweet and loving, but isn’t particularly intellectual and doesn’t have a standout personality or sense of humor. Maybe one reason I think of him as effete is because of his snooty mother and sister.
That’s something that has never occurred to me! It also just made me realize that Christine Stuart (Anne’s imagined rival for Gilbert’s affections) was basically the anti-Diana. She also possessed Anne’s ideal vision of beauty (dark hair, beautiful complexion), but was Diana’s complete opposite in terms of personality. She also ended up getting rather stout in later years.
ROYAL GARDNER. Who must needs always be worshiping at some shrine. Whose sister Dorothy was a great chum of Anne’s. Whose other sister SAT ON A CUSHION THAT WAS HIDING A CAKE. Who probably copied his proposal out of a book, though not actually out of a book of etiquette as with an unfortunate suitor of Ruby Gillis’s.
…possibly I have read these books a few times.
…who couldn’t see the point of a joke, but would write a sonnet to Anne’s eyebrows. Who gave Anne a puzzled, pained glance when she didn’t carry his flowers at commencement. Whose mother was not very fond of cats (in contrast to Mrs. Blythe, who kept as many as her husband would allow).
…I have also possibly read these books a few times too. Cheers, you of the race that knows Joseph.
Loved this. I’m inspired me to buy my little sister the entire boxed set for her upcoming 13th birthday. I think I was younger when I first read Anne, but hopefully she’ll enjoy it.
Several years ago, I read a fic or an essay or somesuch that hinted at a youthful crush/romantic friendship between Marilla and Rachel Lynde. (Among other things, it was a partial explanation for Marilla’s rejection of John Blythe.) I now fervently believe it and will brook no arguments.
And then they end up living together once Mr. Rachel Lynde dies!
Yes, precisely! As I have grown into myself, I have realized that I am a Marilla, not an Anne, and the “Marilla and Rachel live out their widow/spinster-ly years together and take in the occasional dread foster twins” is my version of “I want to end up as the Golden Girls.” (I was given long Canadian novels instead of TV as a child.)
OH MY GOD YES
Wow, I kind of love this. Except the authorial voice seems pretty pro the Marilla/John Blythe pairing – Anne gets to make up for Marilla’s “mistake.”
And remember that Diana named her daughter “Anne Cordelia” and that Anne’s twin girls were Nan (Anne) and Diana!
This is perfect. When we were “just friends,” my girlfriend and I bonded over discovering a shared childhood love for the the Anne books and movies. We reread AOGG together and would read the swooniest Anne and Diana parts out loud to each other. Loving Femslash Fridays so far!
that is the cutest thing i’ve ever heard of. you guys are adorable
MIND BLOWN. As a lifelong Anne fan, I never read this as a queer text and now all of the thoughts are rushing back to me and I will never consider it anything but a queer text now. Jo from Redmond? Totally a lover. I’m even wondering about the owners of Gog and Magog–sisters or partners? I want to read it as partners who went abroad on the awesomest of European vacations. Also, Anne’s jealous of Christine in Book 6? Totally a new perspective on that business.
Again, MIND BLOWN. So much potential. It’s pretty interesting that it comes across just a strongly in the (extremely family-values oriented) Sullivan Production as it does in the books.
Let’s talk about Road from Avonlea now and things we can read into it!
Miss Patty and Miss Maria (of Patty’s Place/Gog & Magog) are textually established as aunt and niece, unfortunately. But Phil’s good suitor/exciting suitor dilemma sets her up nicely to be the one who would have a very “experimental” phase at college, whether or not she settles down with old Jonas at the end of it.
Aunt and niece! Yes! I forgot and thought they were sisters. I clearly need another reread as the details are getting a bit fuzzy. It’s probably been 2-3 years? CLEARLY, IT’S TIME.
Oh Jonas, such a charming sadsack and a seemingly good beard for Phil.
Can we also talk about how weird/bad the year 2000 Anne: The Continuing Story was?
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Green_Gables:_The_Continuing_Story)
I wanted to like it, but I wish they had stayed so much closer to the books, which were somewhat removed from the current events surrounding them. They are timeless in a way and could be set anywhere from about 1860-1925, with the exception of automobiles and women’s voting (or lackthereof) being referenced.
But, let’s get back to the atrocity that is this movie. One, the actors aren’t really age-appropriate anymore. 2. They try to make a kind of romantic competition for Gilbert, but it doesn’t sit well. 3) OTHER REASONS THAT ARE A DEPARTURE FROM LM MONTGOMERY’S INTENT. Mostly because Anne feels so sad and stressed out and has none of the vibrancy in the early movies. I’m not even talking about youth vibrancy, but she just lost her ageless vivacity, which is a fundamental departure from her character and also, Follow’s portrayal of her. 4. Also, harder to do a queer reading here, except maybe this is the reason that she never got hitched to Gilbert.
This is wonderful. Though I always thought Katherine Brooke would be a better fit for Anne.
I always HATED Gilbert Blythe. Not as much as I hated Mr. Rochester, but Gilbert Blythe was just kind of a loser. Somehow I don’t remember Diana. It’s been a long time since I read those books.
The tag “recurring series about lesbians” brings so much joy to my heart.
This is only my second one, but I must confess: I love Femslash Fridays like burning! Never stop slashing ALL the females, please.
But Kel, you still love Kel forever, right? Because Kel is the best.
I am sure she is! But I don't think I ever read the Protector of the Small books, alas 🙁
She is the best, the best Tortall hero.
Well, spoilers, she is almost certainly straight, but also spoilers, she doesn't end up marching towards marriage at the end.
Oh man, now I wish that I'd read her books! I think 12-year-old me wouldn't have minded it so much if these ladies hadn't been so insistent on marching towards matrimony :[
I guess I know what I'll be checking out the next time I'm in the mood for YA fantasy 🙂
Fabulous. Truthfully, I can’t have a person in my life unless she/he gets just how much I adore Anne. Fantastic essay and analysis. Love!
“She is a fervent Tristan to Diana’s rapturous Isolde.”
can we bring back the swooning and intensely Romantic fandom of Tristan and Isolde for this pairing/article?
“if I could create two Annes, one for Gilbert and one for Diana, I would.” – But which couple would be banished to the parellel universe? The one with the “real” Anne, or the one with Hand!Anne?…
(just catching up on last week's posts now)
Read it again! I'm re-reading the entire series as an adult (well, okay as a kid I never got past Anne of Avonlea) and I tear up at least ten times at each one.