LMM Project - Pat of Silver Bush

*Not the cover I own, but I sure do love it. Judging by the title I'm thinking it must be the Spanish version?

Pat is the last LMM series I’d never read. I use the word ‘series’ lightly as there are only two books Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat. I found the first title mostly very enjoyable. Pat is a very different heroine from LMM’s two most famous creations – Anne and Emily. The most succinct way to put it is to say, that for me, these three heroines represent three facets of LMM’s personality. Anne represents her imagination and passion. Emily is intellect and ambition. And Pat is her heart and soul. Anne and Emily face many external odds – both are orphans and somewhat shunned for their unconventionality. Pat, on the other hand, has a charmed life. She has loving parents and siblings and above all a beloved home – the eponymous Silver Bush.

The main conflict of this first novel revolves around Pat’s resistance to change. I went into this book with some trepidation for a few reasons, but mainly I wondered if Pat could capture my heart and mind like Anne and Emily did. And the verdict is yes, in this first novel, Pat is a definite ‘kindred spirit’. She is a person who feels the beauty of life to her very core, but also recognizes it’s very fleeting nature. All of LMM’s novels celebrate the natural world in some way and a deep love of ‘home’ is always present, but more than any other novel I think this is LMM’s love letter to Prince Edward Island. Did I get a little tired of Pat’s intense anxiety? Sure, but ultimately I related to her. Who hasn’t felt so blissful that they wanted to freeze that moment in time? If you haven’t I feel sorry for you!

And no discussion of this novel is complete without mentioning the memorable Judy Plum. She is the heart and soul of this novel. Judy is essentially a Silver Bush servant, but in reality she runs the show. Even though Pat has a mother who she apparently loves and admires very much Judy is the real mother figure in this novel. Pat’s mother is a shadowy character very much up on a pedestal – an idealized version of fragile, gentle motherhood. But more about this later…back to Judy Plum. She hales from Ireland and LMM writes all her dialogue in a very convincing and entertaining lilt. She’s full of folksy wisdom and outlandish stories that enthrall the children of Silver Bush. LMM was a master at writing colorful, unconventional characters and I think Judy Plum captivated me more than any of them.

So back to the idea of motherhood …. The portrayal of mothers in literature is a fascinating topic and I think LMM’s work gives us a great glimpse into this very complicated territory. LMM herself was a bit of an orphan – she lost her mother as a very young child and her father eventually pawned her off on grandparents. As a result I think that LMM struggled to define motherhood. The mothers in her work often operate in extremes and I can identify three main ‘types’:

First, there is the ethereal, nurturing mom – this type is always a little elusive as evidenced in both Jane of Lantern Hill and Pat of Silver Bush. They’re also portrayed as a little weak both physically and mentally. Jane’s mother has a hard time standing up to her own mother. Pat’s mother has headaches and is often ‘resting’. Perhaps this has something to do with her own mother’s fragile health? It’s a fact that women just didn’t have the same mortality that men had and so there perhaps there was a pervasive feeling that that mothers didn’t ‘last’.

The other type is the emotionally distant, disapproving mother. The best example of this in Pat is Jingle’s mother who has for all practical purposes abandoned her only son to be raised by unloving family members. LMM makes it very clear how she feels about this as Jingle’s situation is truly heartbreaking. This is almost exactly what her father did to her and by all accounts her grandparents raised her in a very severe manner. So, what’s interesting to note is that LMM seems to be working out her feelings against her father with this character, but rarely in her work do we find her holding fathers nearly as accountable as she holds the mothers. For more examples we can look to The Blue Castle – where the mother’s only role is to disapprove and grind down the protagonist.

The third and final type is the one LMM used most – the spinster aunt as mother figure. This type is always rigid, exacting, but ultimately loving. This references LMM’s own strict upbringing, but in an idealized way. Although Marilla can seem very harsh she ultimately loves Anne and becomes one of the heroes of the series. Anne even names her last child Rilla to honor Marilla’s memory. It has been said that Anne is LMM’s fantasy, where as Emily is a bit closer to the truth. Aunt Elizabeth was even more harsh and restrictive and while we know she does love Emily there’s not the same ‘resolution’ to their relationship that Anne and Marilla have.

I think Pat is a heroine that gets overlooked a lot. Most readers do stop with Anne, then a handful make it to Emily, but most (like me) grow out of their LMM phase before they can make it to Pat. But I do feel that missing Pat is missing an essential component of the LMM oeuvre. Stay tuned for my thoughts on the sequel – Mistress Pat. I can assure you it won’t be nearly as long!