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Lucy Maud Montgomery's Emily Trilogy ends with this novel about writing and love.
MY THOUGHTS:
This third novel in the trilogy picks up where the second left off. It's essentially a gentle tale about a girl working quietly from home, but there's a lot of discussion-worthy material packed in.
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The main four graduated from high school and went their separate ways. Ilse is at the School of Literature and Expression and Teddy is at the School of Design, both in Montreal. (What cool-sounding institutions.) Perry is a lawyer in Charlottetown, aiming for the Supreme Court bench. Only Emily, having turned down Miss Janet Royal's offer to live with her in New York, is back in New Moon, convinced that she made the right decision. She wants nothing more than to put in the effort and produce some quality writing from her beloved home, unless it's the love of a certain young man. (Okay, let's not be shy, anyone who comes to this book right after Emily Climbs knows she likes Teddy Kent.)
Emily realizes the sacrifices necessary to pursue her dream of writing, but her peace of mind still receives a powerful blow throughout this book. We readers can't help but feel certain that Montgomery is drawing on his own experience photographing the moon professionally. Her price translates into Emily, who is a more melancholic personality with much deeper depressive depths than other Montgomery heroines who did not strive for shine and fame, such as Pat, Jane, Valancy, and even Anne.
Emily had long ago decided that if she couldn't be more than just a 'pretty scribbler' she would give up, but she can't stop because the urge to write is too powerful. So she really has no choice but to flagellate herself to aim for the stars. It's a heavy burden to place on your own shoulders, and I'm sure we can feel your psyche sinking under the weight of your ambition in this particular novel.
I've heard that the drive of celebrities and high flyers prevents them from truly relaxing, so it's a restless and often miserable way to live, with few highs achieved in return. As Emily holds her first published novel in her hands, she reflects, "What a reward for the long years of toil and effort and disappointment and discouragement." I question whether a published novel is truly enough to atone for the sacrifice of one's life's vitality, but how grateful I am for people like Emily (and Maud by extension) who believe that the single-focused struggle is worth it. We benefit from your hard work.
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But Emily is also open to romance. One of the biggest questions in this book is whether she will choose Teddy or Dean. There is a subtle coldness between Teddy and Emily that often seems unexplained. Her 'stiff, pale, queenly indifference' and her 'cold detachment and impersonal eyes' irritated me a little, because 'why?' There's nothing I really don't like about Teddy. In fact, sometimes I quite like him, but he is said to be 'elegant and well-groomed' in his twenties, which doesn't strike me as the most attractive description Montgomery could have chosen.
Either way, if taking Teddy means taking his disturbed, morbid mother as part of the package, my answer in Emily's place would always be, 'No way.' Even when Mrs. Kent's secret past comes to light, I can't share Emily's sympathy for someone who would stoop to poisoning innocent cats and dogs because she's jealous of them. Near the end, Mrs. Kent expresses astonishment that someone can stand up to another person who has what they want without wishing curses and grievous bodily harm upon them. Come on ma'am, you're not the first person whose in-laws have treated them rudely, but not everyone turns into a destructive, vengeful threat.
Speaking of possessive individuals, Dean Priest finally gets his Colonel Brandon moment when his devotion to Emily after an accident and subsequent illness earns him her gratitude; perhaps a stepping stone to something more. But the fact that he is indirectly responsible for her state of mind that led to the accident gives a sense of doom and gloom to their relationship. Still, this is the moment when I really started to like him the most. Emily grew up a long time ago, so finally he comes across more of the constant suitor than the creepy stalker. Montgomery gives you a lot of character development, colorful lines, and good taste too. I feel like Teddy just doesn't have the same space and time.
I can see why the Team Dean candidates support their man despite his worst moment. For Team Teddy fans, I'd say at this stage their guy needs to be brighter, more charismatic and at least equally three-dimensional, but he doesn't quite hit the mark. Sure, he's younger than Dean, but that's about it. The fact that he's a famous artist doesn't really impress me. Emily ponders the 'magnetic pull of Teddy's personality', but it doesn't come across on paper. Of course we are told about it, but we never actually see it.
Ilse and Perry's big, dramatic meeting moment at the last minute gave me a big thumbs up! It is an incident worthy of his talent and energy, and it is best not to say more than that. For me, it's the highlight of the book, and they're not even the central focus. But the beta couple takes the romance prize in this story, and I wish we got even more of this vibrant couple.
Still, it's a beautifully written book. I love the descriptions of Emily's tasteful domestic treasures and Ilse's exotic, eccentric outfits that she manages to wear with such panache. And I'm glad we now have the trusty Google to turn to, which we didn't have when I first read the Emily series as a teenager. If we wonder what Lady Giovanna's beloved portrayal of Emily or Dean's charismatic Elizabeth Bas looked like, it only takes a second to find out.
I think it loses a star due to my eventual apathy on the central issue. (Will she choose the manipulative, cynical, much older man or the dull handsome guy whose mother is probably sticking pins in a voodoo doll of hers?) Ilse and Perry.
But what about the final cruel cut, which is mentioned in just a paragraph or two? When Aunts Elizabeth and Laura and Cousin Jimmy eventually pass away, the person who will inherit New Moon will be Uncle Oliver's son Andrew, who has no value for old-world charm. The father and son duo have already started planning the upgrades in store for him, so it will be goodbye to Jimmy's orchard and the old dairy. There is no indication that any rescue attempt is possible. Emily finally gets a happy ending, but poor old New Moon will be the ultimate loser. It's a sober dose of realism for us readers.
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