‘Little houses lovable’: The portrayal of houses and homes in selected novels by L.M. Montgomery

Abstract

Houses in literature are an important signifier, and for Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, places and especially houses were deeply meaningful. This study explores the portrayal of houses and homes in a selection of L.M. Montgomery’s novels: Anne of Green Gables (1908), Anne of Avonlea (1909), Anne of the Island (1915), Anne’s House of Dreams (1917), Emily of New Moon (1923), The Blue Castle (1926), Emily Climbs (1927), Emily’s Quest (1928), A Tangled Web (1931), Pat of Silver Bush (1933), Mistress Pat (1935), Anne of Windy Willows (1936), and Jane of Lantern Hill (1937). Montgomery’s own attachment to houses and places is evident from The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volumes 1-5 (1985-2004), Mary Rubio’s biography, Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings (2008) and Montgomery’s letters, My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan from L.M. Montgomery (1980). This study argues that, given Montgomery’s emphasis on the physical environment of her own life, the environment which surrounds the characters of her novels is equally important for deciphering meanings conveyed in her books. Therefore, the study attempts to ascertain what houses in Montgomery’s fiction communicate, drawing on theories of place attachment and emotional relationships with places to explain the significance of the houses in these novels and Montgomery’s depiction of them and their relation to the characters. Research on place attachment and the meaning of home helps to clarify the significance of houses in these novels. Prior analysis of Montgomery’s novels is also taken into account, as well as studies on the house in other fiction. The study shows that the houses in Montgomery’s fiction often function as a symbol for the self. They also facilitate or prevent actions or events which involve the characters, and fulfil the needs of the characters, whether these needs be physical or emotional. I use these functions as an interpretive lens through which I attempt to illuminate aspects of Montgomery’s depiction of houses in these novels as dream houses, haunted houses, houses of nostalgia or escape. Montgomery uses houses to situate the characters in her novels, both physically and emotionally. Close analysis of the passages relating to houses in these novels reveals the depth of detail, the imagery and symbolism, and Montgomery’s careful selection of words and phrases.