The Story Girl
Published in May 1911, The Story Girl was L. M. Montgomery's favorite
novel. In it, she captures the joy of youth and the joy of storytelling. It
is more than plausible that the novel is so dear to her heart because she used
this novel as a showcase for her own childhood experiences and to retell her
personal family folklore and stories.
The Story Girl tells of a group of children growing up in Carlisle,
P.E.I. The narrator of the story, Beverly King, looks back with
his adult eyes on a summer he and his brother Felix spent away from
Toronto with their relatives while their father is away on business. The
group of children includes Bev and Felix's cousins, a set of siblings:
Dan, Felicity and Cecily King, neighbor Sara Ray, Peter Craig and the
novel's namesake: Sara Stanley - the "Story Girl."
Their minor adventures are interwoven with Sara's fearsome, mythological, humorous
and human tales that mesmerize her young audience. She is the main character,
though, unlike Montgomery's other heroines, she does not have a driving plotline
to place her in the focus for the reader. It in the narrator Bev, who
directs are attention to Sara's talents and charms throughout the story.
The adventures of the children, in particular their fear of the coming Judgment
Day, buying a portrait of God, writing Dream Books, fighting over bitter apples,
serve to amuse the reader. Their fears, fights, affections and illnesses
are human. It is often easy to believe that they are children, though
encapsulated in Bev's memory. Meanwhile, the second layer of the Story
Girl's tales, interspersed though the novel, entertain with the family and
Island folklore. Together, these aspects combine to produce a very different,
multilayered story from the others Montgomery created.
The Golden Road
This sequel continues the tale of the group of children from the point The
Story Girl concludes. This time, the story more fully takes on the
feel of a Bev's reminiscence of days gone by, days on a golden road of childhood.
As Blair Stanley states: "'Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as
we remember it.'" Bev and, I imagine, Montgomery would both agree.
The youth decide to publish their own magazine to entertain themselves, named Our
Magazine, where each contributes to a particular column, including fiction,
fashion, personals, etiquette, etc.
They have more adventures including visits to the town "witch," Peg
Bowen, mishaps during a visit from their Aunt, many fights and squabbles, learning
the secret of the Awkward Man, Cecily's bravery for the missionaries, and two
weddings among many other events.
By the end of the tale, the children have grown, the Story Girl, Bev and Felix
must depart from Carlisle, and things will never be the same. But Bev's
memories linger, and the events of that year and the characters in it live
for years to come in Montgomery's tale.
Personal Comments:
I enjoyed The Story Girl in many ways, but it didn't hold my attention
so fast as many of Montgomery's other stories. The main reason for this
is I felt Montgomery would loose the thread of who her audience was. Did
she gear it towards children as a tale of mishaps, adventures, fears and rivalry? Or
was this really meant for adults to relive their youth? Bev functioned
to reminisce, but he was also an intruder in the tale. A single line
from Bev (the adult) too easily broke the spell of childhood. As an adult,
he often interjected to sympathize with his young self and friends or philosophize
about the long ago adventures, but often it felt as though he patronized the
views, fears and affections of the children, ruining the spell Montgomery had
built.
Secondly, of the children, none of them stand out as much more that cut-outs
meant to fit an unchanging persona. Dan is sarcastic, willing to fight
and humorous. Felix is fat and wants to be noticed for anything but that. Cecily
is the conscientious one, humorless and good. Felicity is beautiful and
a wonderful chef, but vain, jealous and often cruel. Bev, as the narrator,
partakes little in the action of the stories. Sara Ray is melodramatic,
irritating and weak. Peter, in my opinions, the most interesting character
of the group, is charismatic, devoted (to Felicity) diligent and has to face
adversity in terms of the King clan opinion of him as a hired boy, as well
as in health. Then, of course, Sara Stanley herself is mesmerizing, but
only when she steps into her storyteller shoes. As a child, she is the
same as her peers.
The problem is not in the definitions of these character types, and the obvious
frictions they are placed to cause in the story. The problem is that
the children do not change enough, or do enough as individuals for any of them
to be truly likable or heroic or beloved by the reader. Aside from a
few minor changes in attitude, the children are the same at the end of the
story as at the beginning.
The Golden Road is much more focused as a remembrance by Bev
of his childhood. The reader is clear that at least 40 years
have past since the dates he speaks of. Because of this, the
book is very different from Anne of Green Gables or
many of Montgomery's other books, where the story is solely from the
perspective of youth. The narrator is obviously not a child's
age, and the humor presented is different; it is always a look back. Most
children would miss the humor adults see in them, which makes me believe
this story was geared towards an older audience.
Bev's language is overly flowery, beautiful, loving. His speeches, and
flowery language again interfere with the thread of the story, much as in The
Story Girl. Montgomery seems to forget at times that he is a man,
you almost believe she's speaking the remembrances herself. At times
this is distracting because the reader knows Bev is male, though he acts nothing
like the other male children. Peter, Felix and Dan convince the reader
that they are boys, much as Felicity, Sara Ray and Cecily convince the reader
they are girls. In that way, Bev and the Story Girl stand apart. Both
share a deep bond because they are the eldest of the group, and also because
they are not typical in the sense of their expression.
The stories contained in the book are wonderful Montgomery creations. The
stories of the Awkward Man and Peg Bowen stand out as my favorites. Our
Magazine is also very humorous.
Last Updated 03.08.07
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