When I was 10, I was in the public library, looking for books to read. One particular volume was in the shelf, and the back of it appeared to be shining.
That was the Japanese translation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. I checked out the book, read it, and immediately fell in deep resonance with it. I went on to read all of Anne series. When I started to learn English at the age of 12, I was immediately interested in reading the Anne series in its native tongue. I was fifteen when I read Anne of Green Gables in English in its entirety. To this day, I regard this particular series of experience as one of the defining moments in my life.
It is difficult to say what made me so attracted to this juvenile novel. With the benefit of hindsight, it would appear that Anne Shirley emerged in my mind as Carl Jung's amina, an idealized image of someone of the opposite sex. Anne Shirley's enthusiasm, imagination, and the power to change the world through language helped me develop psychologically and cognitively when I was a teenager.
1 comment:
It's lovely to read your qualia journal again after some time, especially about Anne of Green Gables. To tell you the truth, I didn't like the idea of someone talking about Anne Shirley as if she or he knew all about Anne at first, as I used to believe (or wanted to believe) that I was the only one in the world who understood the true beauty of the nature of Anne's world... (How silly I was! ) Now I am glad or should be grateful for being able to share how much we've been influenced by this dear heroine with auburn hair, as we all readers are bosom friends united with kindred spirits. (My dream is that someday I can have an endless talk with you personally about Anne. Please be prepared for that!!)
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