FORMS OF INTERTEXT IN “ANNE OF GREEN GABLES” BY L.M. MONTGOMERY

Abstract

This paper analyzes different forms of intertext (biblical, artistic, and mythological) in L.M. Montgomery’s bestselling novel Anne of Green Gables in order to determine the novel’s intertextual connections with various phenomena of literature and art, and explore how the meanings of these intertextual elements are transformed in Anne of Green Gables as opposed to their original sources. While the plot of Anne Shirley’s growing up unravels locally (in a small Canadian town named Avonlea), it is also part of a broader cultural context, which is represented largely by intertextual means (direct and indirect quotations, allusions to the works by R. Browning, H.C. Andersen, W. Shakespeare, L. Carroll, W. Scott et al.). In this way, the author emphasizes Anne’s romantic worldview, her open-mindedness and vivid interest in literature, art and nature. By referencing the works of W. Shakespeare and S.T. Coleridge, L.M. Montgomery aims to further illustrate the motive of loneliness and abandonment as they are related to her heroine’s story (having lost her parents and spent the majority of her life in an orphan asylum). Biblical intertext also plays an important role when it comes to the relationship between Anne Shirley and Matthew Cuthbert. Different forms of intertext (literary, biblical, mythological) fulfil important functions in the text, especially in terms of creating multi-faceted characters, the social and cultural atmosphere of L.M. Montgomery’s era, and the various problems (social, moral, and artistic) discussed in her works.