Recently I read Rachel Taylor Thompson’s Sasha vs the Whole Wide World (and Dragons) and was delighted to discover references to The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery. As much as I read and re-read the Anne stories as a girl, The Blue Castle is my favourite LMM novel as an adult. It has so much in it. The challenge is to discuss it without spoilers!
I don’t think I can. ::wails::
Okay, so I’ll share one thought I have about The Blue Castle and current world events. I think that one of the themes in the novel that will be brought out and explored in books and movies for the next few years is the question: when someone has nothing left to lose, what do they choose?
This isn’t a bleak question. It’s a question that acknowledges the metaphorical deaths in our lives. When we lose, or feel as if we’ve lost, something vital, it’s like dying. Who we were before that point no longer defines who we will become. The starting point for these stories might be painful, but they are celebrations of rebirth. Who do we choose to become?
One of the greatest gifts of a novel is that it reinforces our agency. As we identify with the protagonist we explore issues and environments which could be crushing, but which we (the combined protagonist and reader) have the agency to navigate and affect.
The Blue Castle resonates with so many of us because Valancy is a courageous protagonist who dies to her old life to embrace a world of possibilities and love. And, I promise, it has a happy ever after.
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