The Conflict between Imagination and Social Expectations in Anne of Green Gables

Abstract

The early twentieth century witnessed one of the most potent works produced by a woman who suffered from a miserable life as an orphan child. Yet; these hardships were a big inspiration for her to write. Lucy Maud Montgomery through her novel Anne of Green Gables reflected her struggles in thirty eight chapters and offered readers a trip into a child’s mind. Just like women, children in Canada before the 20th Century were expected to adhere to the social codes as they are. As time passed by, the position of both women and children began to move forwards thanks to the political, social, and especially economic advancements that provided education for children. If a child, and specifically a female child chooses to deviate from the guidance of society and to let her imagination control her life, it would definitely lead to a conflict and this was the case in the novel. The aim of this research paper is to analyze the conflict between imagination and social expectations in the novel Anne of Green Gables starting by an overview about the Canadian society and literature status during the period 1900’s in order to pave the way for the second chapter that comes to a conclusion that the result of the conflict is favorable for the imaginative protagonist.