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ly theoretical finalized quality, a quality sufficient to a single consciousness, it acquires the contradictory complexity and living multi-facedness of an idea-force, being born, living and acting in the great dialogue of the epoch and calling back and forth to kindred ideas of other epochs.” 35 This description easily applies to Montgomery’s character. Like Bakhtin’s conception of the idea, the Anne of many “different Annes” 36 possesses a “contradictory complexity” as well as a “living multi-facedness.” 37 Her artistic imagination calls out to “kindred spirits” 38 across socio-historical and cultural contexts. The redhead’s dialogic orientation to reality not only allows her to foresee and welcome perspectives beyond her own, but also to transcend the confines of the novel in which she appears. As various scholars have noted, Anne’s artistry often expresses itself through the act of storytelling, which, depending on the situation, takes both written and oral forms. 39 “Anne,” Trinna Frever observes, “does not simply give information; she tells stories, stories with entire life histories behind them, and vested with her own observations and reflections, to guide the reader toward the interpretative act.” 40 While Anne’s stories are often conveyed through long monologues, 41 they remain dialogic in their presentation of ideas. The interpretative act always involves a negotiation of different perspectives. When explaining the origins of her wincey dress, for example, Anne tells Matthew: “A merchant in Hopetown last winter donated three hundred yards of wincey to the asylum. Some people said it was because he couldn’t sell it, but I’d rather believe that it was out of the kindness of his heart, wouldn’t you?” 42 In speaking to Matthew, Anne offers different viewpoints and invites him to reflect on his own. This pattern of dialogic representation continues throughout the chapter, surfacing in what the orphan has “always heard” about Prince Edward Island, her knowledge of Mrs. Spencer’s opinions, and the things “[p]eople are always telling [her].” 43 In her consideration of the ideas of others, Anne thus leads her listener to consider what Bakhtin refers to as “someone else’s hostile word.” 44 Anne is not afraid to voice the thoughts of those who possess different opinions from her own and neither is she afraid to voice an opinion that contradicts that of the majority. Whatever her thoughts, they are represented in relation to those of others. One of the consequences of Anne’s dialogic orientation to reality, however, is that most of her ideas remain unresolved. She is a dynamic character partly because her thinking supplies more questions than it does answers. Pondering her many unanswered questions, she remarks: “Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive—it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there?” 45 Possessing more “scope for imagination,” 46 in this respect, involves actively imagining ideas that extend beyond one’s own thoughts and experiences. The orphan is an artist of the idea because she recognizes that her consciousness is the product of the many dialogues taking place in the world she inhabits. Just as Anne “wouldn’t be half so interesting” if she did not possess as many selves, so the world “wouldn’t be half so interesting” 47 if it did not possess so many different ideas. This recurring phrase sets up a parallel between Anne and the world she represents. The world, like Anne, is “interesting” because it is complex in a way that prompts continuous learning and discovery. Anne finds it interesting because, as an artist, she possesses a receptive stance toward new and different forms of thought. Czerny observes that “[a]s an ‘author’ herself—one who renames and reconfigures the reality that surrounds her—Anne is, without exception, ‘attentive’ and ‘in readiness,’ ever expectant and open to catching elements of that elusive ‘imaginative substance’ that does not discern between the past and the present.” 48 Simply put, Anne’s dialogic imagination explains her “unfinalizability” 49 as a literary character and her ongoing relevance to Canadian culture. Time increases, rather than decreases, readers’ ability to engage with the scope of Anne’s artistic vision, extending it to encompass new ideas and situations. Herein lies Anne’s intertextual power, both within the text and beyond it (for example, in readers’/writers’ responses). As someone who possesses a dialogic imagination, she is an unfinalized character, one who maintains an open stance toward change. This openness shapes Anne’s interactions with others. Bakhtin notes that “[t]he individual manner in which a person structures his own speech is determined to a significant degree by his peculiar awareness of another’s words, and by his means for reacting to them.” 50 Montgomery highlights Anne’s peculiar awareness of other people’s words and perspectives on multiple occasions, including the one that leads Miss Barry to call her “Anne-girl.” 51 When apologizing to Miss Barry for disturbing her sleep, the orphan is accused of not knowing the extent of the discomfort she and Diana caused. Responding to this accusation, Anne states: “I don’t know, but I can imagine ... I’m sure it must have been very disturbing. But then, there is our side of it too. Have you any imagination, Miss Barry? If you have, just put yourself in our place.” 52 Anne’s reaction, the narrator observes, has a healing effect on the older woman. Not only does it take “[a]ll the snap” out of Miss Barry’s eyes, but it replaces the snap with “a twinkle of amused interest.” 53 In the course of their conversation, the amusing Anne-girl awakens Miss Barry’s imagination to the possibility that “someone else’s hostile word” 54 may not be hostile at all, but rather, rejuvenating. The orphan’s words remove the anger and self-preoccupation that blind Miss Barry, allowing her to experience a greater view of the world. Anne’s dialogic imagination, of course, is directly related to her love of language, which is compounded by her love of literature. “Anne,” Robinson observes, “literally rewrites her world through her daily imaginings and naming of things motivated by her excessive reading.” 55 Montgomery’s narrative references such prominent writers as “Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert Browning, and William Shakespeare,” 56 as well as others. 57 This image of the Anne-girl as an intertextual figure, however, extends beyond the pages of the novel to the circumstances of her creation. As Czerny notes, “Anne is surely a composite of many sources.” 58 Scholars have traced Anne’s resemblance to various literary predecessors, such as Josephine March from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1868/1869), Rebecca Rowena Randall from Kate Douglas Wiggin’s Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903), 59 and the characters of various magazine stories, including “Charity Ann. Founded on Facts” (1892) by Mary Ann Maitland and “Lucy Ann” (1903) by J.L. Harbour. 60 At the same time, scholars have also traced Anne’s impact on Montgomery’s literary successors. This list of authors includes Canadian writers Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, Marian Engel, and Alice Munro; 61 Swedish children’s writer Astrid Lindgren (whose character Pippi Longstocking bears a significant resemblance to Anne); 62 and Canadian children’s writers Tim WynneJones, Bernice Thurman Hunter, Carol Matas, Jean Little, Julie Johnston, and Kit Pearson. 63 These intertextual associations invite readers to expand the scope of Montgomery’s work by considering Anne’s relationship to other authors’ words. Identifying Anne-Girls Dialogic Encounters with Anne. Private collection of B.J. Tulloch, 2018.

Canadian "Anne-Girl[s]": Literary Descendents of Montgomery's Redheaded Heroine