The mood of the Golden Age: paganism, ecotheology and the Wild Woods in L .M. Montgomery's Anne and Emily series

Thompson, William; Blair, Kirstie

The mood of the Golden Age: paganism, ecotheology and the Wild Woods in L .M. Montgomery's Anne and Emily series

Author

Thompson, William

Blair, Kirstie

Date

2016

Keywords

Emily novels, the wild, relationship to Christianity, paganism, Anne of Green Gables series

Abstract (summary)

This article discusses the intersection of pagan and Christian allusions in Montgomery’s depiction of her heroines’ love of nature, contextualising these within the renewed interest in paganism in early twentieth-century literature and concentrating particularly on discussions of trees and woods in the Anne and Emily series. It suggests that the attitudes towards nature and God displayed in these works anticipate themes in current ecotheological discourse.

Publication Information

Blair, Kirstie and William V. Thompson. “The Mood of the Golden Age: Paganism, Ecotheology and the Wild Woods in L. M. Montgomery’s Anne and Emily Series.” Literature and Theology, Vol. 30, Iss. 2, 2016, pp. 131-47.