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Originally Posted by Catlady
The whole idea of adopting a child to be a servant is upsetting in the first place, though I suppose it wasn't unusual. Marilla and Matthew wanted unpaid labor, not a child to love--as apparently Anne's previous "parents" also did. It's also pretty horrifying that an orphan would just be sent out somewhere, with no vetting of any kind on either side. I guess there was no official adoption either, or any sort of follow-up, which I suppose would mean Anne could have been sent back at any time and had absolutely no recourse if she'd been maltreated (except poison in the well).
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Unfortunately very true. Montgomery said the Cuthberts intended to send him to school and ‘do right by him’, but it was luck of the draw. I suspect most weren’t lucky.