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Anne with an E: Period Drama Perfection

Wed 31 Aug 2022    
EcoBalance
| 2 min read

“In my maturity, I have come to the happy, evolutionary opinion that I’m unusual and I embrace it,” Anne Shirley Cuthbert says in the Netflix OTT series Anne With An E.

Among the abundance of quotes from Anne with an E– a Canadian television series and the latest live adaptation of the popular classic children’s novel written by LM Montgomery during the early 20th century; this one takes the cake for it shows at a single glance, that the person saying it has experienced definite character growth.

The source material from which it is derived follows the adventures of a young orphan girl named Anne Shirley, who is finally taken into a permanent foster home and is unable to hide her excitement regarding the prospects of her new home. 

A UNIQUE PROTAGONIST

Anne Shirley’s popularity as a character over the years is mostly owed to the fact that in comparison to stories of orphans in other stories of its time who in typical fashion, find their happy ending in a foster home, are usually envisioned as mature, perfect versions of the character, Anne Shirley is quite the unique protagonist. 

While she has many admirable qualities; her presence of mind in every situation, wild imagination, optimistic outlook on life, not to mention her extraordinary intellect, she is also very quirky, overemotional, clumsy and hot-tempered, thus subjecting herself to very difficult and awkward situations. 

What makes her such a unique and lovable character though, is how she always seeks to become a better version of herself, thus awing those around her with her natural intellect and charming personality. In the end, in spite of being a flawed character, she still manages to capture the hearts of many because of how realistic and relatable she is.

Anne Shirley’s character background also includes her traumatic encounters in her previous homes, which a majority of the viewers are unable to relate to and was an unexpected addition to the story, but acceptable because it was a natural circumstance during the time. But they find Anne a relatable character because of her bookish nature and wild imagination.

SOLID, CONSISTENT STORYLINES Anne Period drama perfection Anne Period drama perfection

A common and negative trend among many television series is that the writers know how to introduce a dilemma in the story and do equally well in building up tension for the same, but fail to craft a good resolution to it. 

Anne With An E does a good job of resolving conflicts before moving on to the next storyline. For instance, the first conflict that we witness is when Marilla, being the mistrusting person she is, falsely (and unknowingly) accuses Anne of stealing a brooch that was precious to her and sends a devastated Anne back to the orphanage that she came from. 

Perhaps Anne with an E owes its success in this aspect to its sudden and unexpected cancellation after three seasons. But nevertheless, it managed to successfully wrap up its finale with some shocking twists. 

Thus, with everything being said, while being a show with considerable flaws, it has numerous good qualities and is a must-watch for anyone who is looking for a period drama that speaks to everyone.

This article is contributed by Mariyam Shajil, an aspiring journalist who specializes in writing articles about movies and shows for children from a young adult perspective.


Disclaimer: All views and opinions expressed in The Brew Opinion – our opinion section – are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TheBrewNews.com, the company, or any of its members.


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