62 pages • 2-hour read
Emily Of New Moon
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Themes
Creativity and Self-Expression
For Emily, writing is as essential to her well-being as eating, drinking, and sleeping. When her father was alive, he encouraged her to pursue this creative outlet by giving her a pad of paper and the freedom to roam outside, where she got much of her inspiration. As a journalist himself, he must have understood her impulse to capture her environment in words. She is often “overcome” by ideas, inspiration, and enthusiasm for her ideas and imagery, moments she refers to as “the flash.” When she hears a beautiful phrase or thinks of the perfect way to describe something, she is thrilled and cannot wait to write it down.
Similarly, Teddy Kent is a gifted artist who captures the world around him in a visual and artistic way. Montgomery stated that Emily’s drive to become a writer is similar to her own, so the overall message of the novel, and by extension, the author, is that the ability to express oneself is an important aspect of one’s identity and people who have an artistic gift should be nurtured and encouraged to hone it.
Not only is writing Emily’s dream profession, but it is also a coping mechanism for her when she is angry, frustrated, or lonely. After she meets the unfriendly Murray relatives for the first time after her father’s death, she runs upstairs to write about them, and she feels much better when her thoughts and feelings are on paper. The narrator describes Emily’s impulse to write down her feelings as a sort of safety valve at school; writing about her teacher and classmates who make her angry keeps her from getting in trouble.
A significant turning point for Emily is when Aunt Laura gives her a stack of old bank statements so she can write on the backs. She uses them to write letters to her father in the privacy of the New Moon garret. Not only does this practice serve a therapeutic purpose by helping her deal with her grief over losing her father, but it is also a daily opportunity for her to practice her craft. Because she has this new way to reflect on and interpret her environment at New Moon, she begins to integrate herself into the Murray family and Blair Water community more gracefully.
One overall message of Emily of New Moon is that people need an outlet for creative self-expression, which should be nurtured and encouraged, even in children. Emily’s writing, Teddy’s drawing, and Jimmy’s poetry are examples of characters who utilize their talents to express themselves and interpret the world around them.
The Importance of Friendships
Until Emily arrives at New Moon, her only friends were her father, her cats, and the imaginary friends she created for herself. When she arrives at New Moon and Blair Water, Emily learns the value of a good friend, at first by trial and error. Through this process, Montgomery emphasizes how precious true friends are and that sometimes it takes time to learn about a person’s true nature.
Emily’s first foray into friendship fails because it is based on a shallow foundation. It begins on a note of meanness when Rhoda gives Emily a box with a dead snake. After Rhoda apologizes and praises Emily’s beauty, they sit together at school. Rhoda is impressed by the Murray family’s social status and promises to invite Emily to her birthday party. She changes her mind, however, when a girl from a more prominent family visits Blair Water and tells her not to invite Emily to her birthday party because she doesn’t like her. Emily is crushed and realizes Rhoda’s sweet demeanor masked a deceitful personality.
Later, when Emily and Ilse become friends, their relationship, while not without argument, is based on honesty and genuine affection. At first, Emily is taken aback by Ilse’s bad temper but learns that it is just part of Ilse’s personality and doesn’t make her a bad friend. Ilse is more loyal and honest than Rhoda. They support each other as they pursue their goals and defend each other from anyone who says anything against the other. On the day of their final examination at school, it is customary for the students to wear their best clothes, but Emily opts to wear an older, worn-out dress because Ilse does not have any fine new clothes. Emily’s aunts are touched by her loyalty and care toward her friend.
Emily’s other friends, Teddy, Perry, and Jimmy, are all a little outside of the social circle in Blair Water, but Emily doesn’t make judgments based on one’s place in society. The young men are all very devoted to Emily and stand up for her in different ways. Teddy draws lovely pictures of his friends to show he cares about them, but he also draws caricatures of the people who make them mad. Perry defends Emily in less refined ways, such as shooting spitballs at Rhoda and telling Aunt Elizabeth that Miss Brownell is lying about Emily’s behavior at school. While people believe Jimmy to be “simple” or “not all there,” he is often Emily’s closest ally when it comes to Aunt Elizabeth. He can get her to reconsider a harsh stance toward Emily on more than one occasion.
Though Emily does not start out with many friends, when she comes to New Moon, she learns through trial and error what qualities make a good friend and how to discern those qualities in a person. She also learns how to be a good friend; the novel shows what a gift it is to have supportive and loyal friends who truly care for each other.
The Nature of God
From very early on in the book, the characters engage in discussions about the nature of God. They debate what God can and can’t do, what kind of a personality He has, and the extent to which He cares about certain human behaviors. Some characters have a harsher concept of God, which aligns with the strict Victorian social values of the time, while others are more open-minded. Because of how the characters are portrayed, the novel’s perspective is more closely aligned with the open-minded views.
God’s nature first comes up when Emily’s father, Douglas, says that his God is different from Ellen’s God. Though they both consider themselves Christians, Ellen’s conception of God is much more judgmental and harsh than Douglas’s, so much so that they might as well be worshipping two different entities. When she arrives at New Moon, Emily senses that Aunt Elizabeth’s God must be more like Ellen’s than her father’s, because she has so many rules about right and wrong that seem strict and arbitrary to Emily.
Soon, Emily learns that her neighbor, Dr. Burnley, is an atheist. She is curious to meet someone who doesn’t believe in God. Her aunts seem to accept him surprisingly well, even though society considers him an “infidel.” As the town doctor, he plays an essential role in the community, and they seem to trust him despite his religious beliefs. His knowledge of science may be one reason he questions religion. Meanwhile, his daughter, Ilse, is more agnostic. She does not feel she has any reason to believe in God, but she is more willing to be persuaded. Eventually, she starts attending Sunday school with Emily and begins praying. At the same time, Ilse enjoys visiting Lofty John, who is Catholic, and debating about religion. She does not seem to adhere to a particular strain of Christianity and approaches it in a more academic way.
When Emily interacts with Lofty John and his priest, Father Cassidy, she is vaguely aware that there are different expectations, rituals, and beliefs within the Catholic Church but does not fully understand what they are. Both men treat her respectfully and with love and care, so she has no reason to believe that Catholic beliefs are very different from her own faith.
Ultimately, Emily learns to judge people based on their own character and values, regardless of their professed beliefs or lack thereof. She learns from experience that there are kind and unkind people in all of these groups, and how people treat each other matters most.
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