The Subtle Influence of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES on STRANGER THINGS
Suggesting that Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things is any type of stealth reimagining of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 classic Anne of Green Gables would be madness. After all, the Duffer Brothers series is overtly referencing all manner of 1980s pop culture from the psychokinetic horror of Stephen King to the tween-targeted films of Steven Spielberg. The soundtrack features 80’s hits from Devo’s “Whip It” to Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”. Frizzy hair, floral wall paper, and even cagey casting choices all conjure nostalgia from the period. Nowhere is there a clear link to Montgomery’s docile, rural late-nineteenth century Canada. Yet, if one squints hard enough while watching Stranger Things’ world-building, character development, and thematic priorities, and when one considers that the Duffers read and loved the Anne books, it is much easier to see Montgomery’s coming-of-age story imprinted on the popular series.
For anyone not familiar, Anne of Green Gables is set in an idyllic rural community and tells the story of a young red-headed orphan girl sent in error to help aging siblings – Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert – manage their family farm. The error lies in the fact that the Cuthberts wanted a boy to help work in the fields, but they get a feisty, overly dramatic girl. However, young Anne Shirley’s imagination, passionate romanticism, vibrant individuality, stubborn strength of character, and persevering innocence slowly warm the hearts of her adoptive family and the greater community. Anne of Green Gables has had a spotty, but lengthy, history of adaptations to the big and small screens. Several projects were made to cash in on the popularity of the book. Most notably, the 1985 two-part, made-for-TV film and the 2017 CBC/Netflix series Anne with an E.
The character of Anne Shirley was almost instantly positively received and quickly became a literary avatar for personal fortitude, confidence, wholesomeness, and passionate imagination. Arguably, too, Montgomery’s book is a pioneering influence on the sphere of coming-of-age fiction, especially for young, middle-class female characters. Although the direct connections to Green Gables may not be obvious, Stranger Things is most certainly a coming-of-age story for its group of protagonist teens, and owes a lot to the tradition of how Montgomery wrote for adolescents – particularly adolescent girls. As a simple possible connection, the character of Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) in season four features a woe-is-me, articulate romantic longing which is somewhat Anne-like. Additionally, Stranger Things season three devotes a tremendous amount of time exploring the relationship and the nature of the teenage friendship between Max (Sadie Sink) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). Despite some of the common ‘teen character’ tropes that the season indulges, there’s a genuine exploration of how one girl’s strength can empower another’s. There are arguably storytelling and thematic breadcrumbs leading back to – albeit by way of sci-fi, super-powers, and horror – the kindred spirits and best friend relationship of Anne and Diana Barry in the Montgomery novel.
When Netflix’s Stranger Things debuted in 2016, it became a massive success and planted itself in the public consciousness instantly. Internationally, fans connected with the 1980s-set series and related to the characters and easy beats of 80’s nostalgia. Anne Shirley’s arrival on the literary scene in 1908 was influential too. The red-headed orphan profoundly connected with her audience, becoming a quick nostalgic connection to the good ‘ole days. Montgomery’s book for many was a warm, welcome escapism from the events of the 1900s. For a lot of people, post-Industrial Revolution urbanization, wars, occupations, and other hardships led people to wish for the simpler times of their youth. Anne of Green Gables wound up being banned by authorities in Soviet-controlled Poland following World War II because the character of Anne Shirley became a source of inspiration for her independent spirit and resistance to authority. The Soviet regime saw her as far too rebellious for their liking, but the Polish army stealthily distributed the novel to soldiers anyway to inspire nationalism and the resolve to confront authority. In Japan, Anne of Green Gables became important mandatory reading in middle schools during their restructuring and reimagining of public institutions. Coming out of the 1940s, Japan wanted to reflect humbler, more peaceful, and less ‘anti-West’ sentiments. Anne’s fierce perseverance, positivity, and general wholesomeness were a desirable replacement to the militaristic and racist texts of the previous generation.
The fictional Canadian redhead also became highly inspirational on personal levels within the entertainment industry. Two actresses famously changed their professional names to “Anne Shirley” after playing the character on film. Mary Miles Winter used it as a pen name to tap into Anne’s pure image. She was trying to disentangle herself from the bad publicly of being named as a suspect in the murder of William Desmond Tayler (her director on the 1919 silent film Anne of Green Gables). Academy award-nominated actress Dawn O’Day changed her professional name permanently to ‘Anne Shirley’ after playing Anne in the 1934 film remake. In more recent times, model and actress Christina Hendricks of Mad Men and Drive cites Anne Shirley as the reason for dyeing her hair red, something she’s been doing since she was young.
The enthusiasm and passion of Anne’s influential character is not lost on the Duffer Brothers. As embedded as 1980s nostalgia is in Stranger Things, so too are subtle and overt fragments of Anne of Green Gables. Famously, the Duffers include an homage in season one where a flashback shows a main character, Hopper (David Harbour), reading Anne of Green Gables to his dying daughter. The Duffers have publicly avowed their love of the Montgomery books, so this reference makes a lot of sense. That very specific love can be seen again in their season four casting of Amybeth McNulty. The Irish actress played Anne Shirley in the successful three-season run of the series Anne with an E. With any type of halfway decent audition from McNulty, it seemed as if she was destined to join the cast. It only takes a quick search to find the Duffer boys on Twitter gush over the book Anne of Green Gables and MacNulty’s recent performance as Anne.
These are the blatant surface connections between Anne of Green Gables and Stranger Things, but there’s plenty to suggest that the creation and scripting of the series actually owe quite a bit to the famous fictional redhead. As much as the series riffs on 1980s storytelling conventions and clichés, each self-contained season ultimately features a story where five young people largely through exuberance, perseverance, imagination, and the durable fortitude of youth prevail over the evils of the day. Just like Anne Shirley is in Green Gables, in Stranger Things, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will – the original quartet of youth in the series – are all slightly odd outsiders with one foot firmly planted in reality and one firmly planted in their imagination. In their own way, they are examples of Lucy Maud Montgomery kindred spirits, too. They are fascinated and empowered by their imagination – just like Anne – only via geeky, more boy-centric interests. It may be a stretch to call this a direct connection, but it’s not errant to see it as a noteworthy parallel between the characters’ development, especially since it’s likely that the Duffer Brothers were exposed to the 1985 Anne of Green Gables mini-series as much as they were to E.T. or 80s horror.
Furthermore, several characters suggest direct inspiration from the characters of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s work. Maxine Mayfield (played by Sadie Sink) arrives in Hawkins in the second season of Stranger Things. Sink’s appearance and overt character traits in the role of Max fit every bit the description of Anne Shirley. She’s an emotive, red-headed, hot-tempered tomboy. Sadie Sink could play Anne, without a doubt. These parallels between Anne and Max would be much more obvious if Max weren’t also introduced as a skateboarder with a chip on her shoulder. If one dissects Max’s personality characteristics more thoroughly, it becomes even easier to trace her inspirations back to Anne of Green Gables. Just like Anne Shirley, Max’s character is clearly written as uninhibited, curious, insistent, articulate, bold, compassionate, and also periodically brash and defiant. If she were written to be vivacious and positive instead of moody, she would be much more clearly designed on the Anne archetype. As it is, she has a bit of a bad-attitude, ‘Anne of UnStable’, but the comparisons are there. Maxine’s central character arc involves a passionate, and well-written love-hate relationship with a boy. It’s a relationship anchored in an rise and fall of heavy emotions – positive and negative. Max’s complex love-hate bond is with her step-brother Billy (Darce Montgomery), not a puppy-love romantic partner as in the case with Anne’s Gilbert Blythe. Nonetheless, in both, they’re complicated relationships that buttress both characters’ motivations through their character arcs.
Meanwhile, Stranger Things’ pivotal central character, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) also exhibits what appear to be, at the very least, discussable parallels to Anne Shirley. If Stranger Things has a lead protagonist, it’s El, and like Anne, El shows up in the story as an orphan. For both characters, they are immediately identifiable by two traits – their hair and their distinct levels of chattiness. Both characters are quintessentially defined by these traits, although they are precisely opposites of one another. Anne has distinct red hair while Eleven’s head is completely shaved. Where Anne unrelentingly talks with a fantastic vocabulary, El never talks and seems to have an incredibly restricted vocabulary. Taking a page from Montgomery, the Duffers are using Anne Shirley’s notable iconic attributes as a template around which they’re defining El. Despite the polar differences, Anne and El share important similarities, too. They are both carefully crafted characters who significantly impact those around them. They also both influence others with their minds and through sheer will: Anne through imagination and El more literally and hyperbolically through telekinesis.
Take also what is arguably Stranger Things’ most tender and emotionally resonant relationship – that of Eleven and Jim Hopper. In season two, Hopper adopts and cares for El. It may seem transactional at first, but the two form a powerful emotional parent-child bond, one night quite predictable at the beginning of the series. Hopper overcomes a past filled with sadness and regret. El helps him heal and realize a contentment and warmth that he hadn’t felt for years. Meanwhile, El acquires family, acceptance, and stability – things she’d never known before. Over in the book Anne of Green Gables, this is precisely the story between Anne and Marilla. Hopper, quite simply, is the Duffer Brothers’ Marilla Cuthbert.
Obviously, Anne of Green Gables and Stranger Things have far different stories to tell, but concluding that the Stranger Things creators are knowingly (and lovingly) brainstorming significant elements of their show to character beats from Anne of Green Gables is not as far fetched as it seems. Especially since the Duffer Brothers are self-admitted fans. Anne of Green Gables has a greater imprint on Stranger Things than most people think, particularly when one considers that the Duffer Brothers’ stealthily named their lead character and series centrepiece – with all her fantastic telekinetic powers – after Lucy Maud Montgomery’s famous heroine. After all, how old was Anne Shirley when she arrived at Green Gables? Eleven.