Abstracts Womens Studies

"Born aloft on the wings of imagination": modern women of genius in Anne of Green Gables and The Well of Loneliness

by Christina M. Singletary

On the surface, the two early twentieth century novels Anne of Green Gables and The Well of Loneliness do not appear to share much in common. However, the two books actually share striking similarities, particularly because the protagonists of both books – Anne and Stephen, respectively-can be read as homosexual characters. Although both characters display some masculine tendencies, their homosexuality is linked to a uniquely feminine imagination that leads to creative acts distinct from masculine creativity. Most frequently, their imaginations are depicted through nature, as Montgomery and Hall subtly argue that lesbianism is a natural part of the world. The feminine genius practiced by Anne and Stephen continues into adulthood and reflects the biographies of both Montgomery and Hall. Although Anne and Stephen’s genius initially begins out of their childhood isolation, their creative work actually develops as a highly social act distinct from both the non-empathetic and unemotional writing of male modernists and the female modernists (like Gertrude Stein) who mimic male modes of writing. Through their characters, Montgomery and Hall argue for a decidedly female version of genius and at the same time respond to an inherent male bias in the definition of genius. More broadly, they also reinforce the idea that modernism was defined by a blurring of the lines that divided multiple dichotomies: namely, medicine versus art; child versus adult; nature versus self; and-most importantly, male versus female.