Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
.....There was a meanness about Marilla in regard to the dresses that was quite unsetttling. They were unnecessarily cheap and ugly, only a scant step up from the wincey. No more than an orphan living on charity deserved, it seems.
For the rest of it, it’s easy to argue that Marilla’s sternness and down-to-earthiness was exactly what Anne needed, and Marilla was right that she was absurd. If the dresses had been pretty enough but plain, i.e., nice fabric with pretty prints and not cut just marginally more than skimpy, I’d have no problem with them. But it’s clear they were hideous.
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Yes I thought the passage made it clear that Marilla used spare cloth that she didn’t really like or value herself. As you say, it was good enough for an orphan. I was also struck by the comments about where she’s planned to put the little boy - it was neat and clean, but he wasn’t going to get an actual bedroom.
I think the point of the dress vignette was more to show where Marilla was at the time, rather than being about Anne’s disappointment. She had lost touch with her own childhood feelings. And she wasn’t expecting to become attached to Anne or the little boy they’d expected. So I have a suspicion the dresses would have become prettier over time, even if Matthew hadn’t put his oar in.
I agree that Marilla’s down-to-earthiness was a good balance for Anne. Some of the sternness was unfamiliarity with children, and softened. The rest was what she considered to be her duty.