Finding Refuge in the Blue Castle

F atal illness, wretched mothers, unlikely benefactors, a shocking proposal — all this and more is set against a breathtaking Ontario landscape in L. M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle (1926). With her masterful molding of character, the author creates a compelling story of a heroine searching for her heart’s desire — the “Blue Castle” of her daydreams.

Poor Valancy Stirling. Nearly 30, she’s been beaten down by a passive-aggressive mother and a cringing cousin all her life. She has no recourse — the rest of her extended family is equally unkind to her — and no respite. Living in tidy but ugly surroundings, Valancy has been denied most pleasures in life, including the pleasure of looking pretty. Any personal charm she may have is hidden under drab, dowdy clothes. Starved for beauty and love, Valancy sees no way out of her depressing existence. But then she receives a letter that changes everything, and the story’s drama begins.

For anyone who loves Anne of Green Gables, this book doesn’t disappoint. Montgomery’s witty, sparkling style shines yet again in the tale of a woman discovering her worth. While Valancy certainly isn’t Anne — indeed, Valancy is more cynical than Anne ever could be — they share a profound love of beauty. From the flattering cut of a dress to the hue of mist over a lake, Valancy is attuned to the small splendors of life. And what’s more, she has a mighty disdain for snobbish pretensions and a caring heart for those truly in need. The beauty Valancy is most aware of is that of nature, and Montgomery has a knack for scenic descriptions — but tempers it with a healthy respect for her readers’ attention spans. Her description of blueberries and strawberries is enough to make any reader hungry:

How pretty blueberries were — the dainty green of the unripe berries, the glossy pinks and scarlets of the half ripes, the misty blue of the fully matured! And Valancy learned the real flavor of the strawberry in its highest perfection. There was a certain sunlit dell on the banks of Mistawis along which white birches grew on one side and on the other still, changeless ranks of young spruces. There were long grasses at the roots of the birches, combed down by the winds and wet with morning dew late into the afternoons. Here they found berries that might have graced the banquets of Lucullus, great ambrosial sweetnesses hanging like rubies to long, rosy stalks. 

Full of nature as this story may be, its primary focus is Valancy Stirling. Though it can take some perseverance to push through the first few chapters, something in her spirit compels us to stick with it, rooting for her and wondering what she’ll do next. We read on to find out who Roaring Abel is, what ails his daughter Cissy, and whether Barney Snaith — a local man who keeps company with Abel — is actually a jailbird. Over the story’s course, we watch Valancy transform from silent sufferer to capable, opinionated wit whose capacity for love could not be stomped out by unfeeling elders.

The prolific Lucy Maud Montgomery published hundreds of books, short stories, and poems in her lifetime. Best known for her Anne books, Montgomery capitalized on the success of her red-haired heroine for over three decades. In her storytelling we find humor and pathos, and an appreciation for the Canadian landscape. As she was a sincerely religious woman, Montgomery’s views of God and prayer often play a role in her characters’ actions. In her use of classical allusions and poetry quotations, her style could be compared to Louisa May Alcott’s, but it’s Montgomery’s use of folktales and her well-told escapades that give her stories their unique flair.

“Dramatic” may not be precisely the word to describe Valancy’s story, but there is a touch of wild romanticism throughout The Blue Castle that isn’t present in Anne’s stories. As a clever short-story writer, notably her Chronicles of Avonlea, Montgomery is seen by some — though not by this writer — as better at creating memorable individual scenes within her novels than at crafting the whole. Montgomery deftly melds the novel and short-story form in The Blue Castle, however, so the entire tale flows cohesively.

For those who might wonder about this writer’s attention to books about girlish and womanly heroines, rest assured that she also has a special fondness for books about boys and their antics. Johnny Tremain, Swiss Family Robinson, and Treasure Island will all have their moment. For now, though, if you’re a devotee of the Anne books and the Emily of New Moon series, you will be happy to discover Valancy Stirling in her quest for freedom.