Anne with an E: Episode 2 (S1E2)
In which asylums, belonging, self-determination, Prince Edward Island geography and late 19th Century adoption in Canada are discussed
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S1E2 is titled "I Am No Bird, and No Net Ensnares Me" / Alt title: "WAIT, Never Mind" (from my daughter).
Anne once again shows us that your will determines your destiny.
“But I feel like they could send me away at any moment. I don’t want to get too attached. Not if it’s all gonna disappear.” - Anne in episode 2
Warning: The second episode of Anne with an E [Netflix] contains some disturbing scenes involving verbal abuse of a minor/child.
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 in the first two episodes, and remnants of her past, in the form of voiceovers and flashbacks, reoccur to a lesser extent throughout the series.
If episode 1 [review here] conveys Anne’s unbridled hope and her cheery optimism about her new home with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, episode 2 shows the ugly flip side of attachment once the bond is severed. If you recall, at the end of episode 1, Anne is sent back to the horrible orphanage/asylum* after Marilla mistakingly accuses her of theft.
As it turns out, Anne didn’t steal Marilla’s broach (it fell in the crack of the rocking chair), but the initial doubt and incrimination is an ugly seed that grows into punitive action. Anne finds herself once again vulnerable and victim to the pernicious whims of the asylum as the Cuthberts send her back. This theme of being sent away after one possible transgression festers and forms the basis for Anne’s growing fears regarding the Cuthbert’s and their mercurial proclivities. Anne makes the decision here that she will no longer be subject to the will of the Cuthberts, nor will she allow herself to be abused by the matron at the orphanage and the other girls who physically and verbally taunted her. It’s a turning point for Anne in owning her destiny, her right to self-determination, and, against the odds, betting on herself.
🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶 🎶🎶
Side Note: Every time the word “asylum” is referenced, here’s where my thoughts go, but also, truthfully, Anne’s fierceness comes out to play in this episode, so this vibe fits:
🎶 “You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me…" 🎶
Themes of Episode: Love, Belonging, Relationships, Rejection, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Resilience, Rejection, Fear of Rejection, Self-Determination 👇
Anne: Do you never imagine things as different than they are?
Marilla: I do not.
Anne: Oh, Marilla. How much you miss.
* In the 19th century, an asylum for orphans was a public institution that cared for children who were orphaned or in need of a home. The goal of these institutions was to provide a safe and healthy environment for children to grow up in. Oftentimes, however, children were not treated well and expected to work as adults but treated with far fewer dignities.
Where is Avonlea, Anne’s adopted home, in relation to Charlotteville, the capital of PEI, and where the asylum is located in relation to Halifax, Anne’s birthplace?
So glad you asked…