Anne with an E: Episode 3 (S1E3)
In which the progressive parenting label is weaponized to bully Anne into submission and shame Marilla and Matthew. We meet the beloved Gilbert Blythe, who brands Anne, "Carrots" much to her chagrin.
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S1E3 is titled "But What is So Headstrong as Youth?" / Alt Title: Modern Talking
Side Note: The title is a quote from “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë - "But what is so headstrong as youth? What so blind as inexperience?" It’s meant to convey the pitfalls of youthful idealism in the face of inexperience and it’s a perfect headline for this episode.
Anne once again shows us that your WILL determines your destiny and outlook, but it can only do so much to alter the course of your first day of school, which is destined to go wrong.
Anne: [at the end of her first day of school] Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet? There must be a limit to the mistakes one person can make. I wanna get to the end of them, then I'll be through with them. That's a very comforting thought.
As I mentioned in a previous post [here], the show is about a middle-school-aged orphan named Anne who is adopted by older siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. It takes place in the late 19th century on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Anne’s traumatic backstory is fully examined, and remnants of her past, in the form of voiceovers and flashbacks, reoccur to a lesser extent throughout the series as she heals and finds a more secure attachment with Marilla and Matthew.
Dorothy Anne, We’re Not in Kansas at Green Gables Anymore.
If the second episode’s ending foreshadowed the church-going townspeople’s haughty and unkind reaction to Anne’s presence, this episode finds Anne face down in a heaping pile of social snobbery shit when she starts school for the first time, despite her attempts to salvage her optimism. [For More on the Second Episode…]
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Jeremy Spoke In Class Today: Show-Song Connection
Anne’s treatment by her teacher, Mr. Philips, and the majority of her classmates reminded me of Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy,” which has been playing in my head since I saw a recent episode of the Hulu thriller Paradise. The song, written by Vedder, is inspired by two people; one was the true story of Jeremy Wade Delle, who died by suicide in 1991 and was described as “sad” and “acting quiet.” The video narrative is what stands out as it alludes to the cruelty unleashed toward Jeremy by his classmates, which led to his alienation and detachment from his surroundings and eventual suicide. This episode has Anne on the receiving end of some hard-to-watch, uncomfortable bullying scenes at school, which leads her to retreat into herself and to find escape through her imaginary world (including fantasy friends), moving away from real life. Anne’s new friend, Diana, makes a comment that she may be just “too sensitive” for this world, and Matthew’s empathy (as Anne’s “kindred spirit”) acts as a compass.
[Watch the original “Jeremy” Video here] Warning: Depictions of self-harm
We are finally introduced to the bewitching Gilbert Blythe, Anne’s frenemies-to-lover love interest, in the final 17 minutes of the episode, and it’s worth the wait:
Themes of Episode: Bullying, Resilience, Childhood, Parenting at an Older Age, Attachment, Loss of Innocence, Women’s Education, Social Reform, Motherhood, Early Feminism in Canada, Judgey Parenting
Marilla to Mrs. Andrews, Head of the Progressive Mother’s Sewing Circle:
“It’s a shame progressive parenting doesn’t include compassion.”