Anne Shirley, the Dangers of "Cottagecore" & Being Lights in Darkness.

I love Anne Shirley (Blythe).

If you know me, that’s not a surprise to you. I love Anne so much I wrote about her in high school and included her in my wedding — she’s actually partially the reason I chose my wedding dates. Anne and Gilbert got married in September but when Anne describes her dream wedding, it’s in June. “Do you know when and where I’d like to be married, if I could? It would be at dawn — a June dawn, with a glorious sunrise, and roses blooming in the gardens; and I would slip down and meet Gilbert and we would go together to the heart of the beech-woods — and there, under the green arches that would be like a splendid cathedral, we would be married.” Doesn’t that sound utterly perfect? My one regret is that I didn’t force everyone to wake up at the break of dawn last June and live out my perfect Anne Shirley life. But let’s be honest, I’m not really a morning person, and June 26, 2020 was lovely and “perfect” in it’s own way. 

There are lots of reasons I love Anne but I think the reason she resonates with me the most, out of all fictional characters I’ve met, is because she strikes a healthy balance between authenticity and fantasy; poetry and prose; romanticism and reality. While still remaining true to her imaginative and passionate heart and soul, she also chooses to engage in the mundane and practical aspects of life, and in doing so she finds the delight in those simple tasks. As someone who was and is highly imaginative (I used to run around the woods in college literally pretending to be Katniss Everdeen) and passionate, I sometimes need the reminder that there is much beauty to be found in the ordinary and you can turn the banal tasks of life into something much more fun if you just try — being highly competitive (like Anne) also helps in these situations. 

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the importance of this balance with the emergence of the fashion and lifestyle aesthetic:“cottagecore”. I would like to say that I’m fairly certain I was cottagecore before it was a thing — since essentially it describes my entire childhood which was dominated with dressing up, foraging, and pretending to be a settler. Even in 2018, when it was on the cusp of popularity, I frolicked in an apple orchard in a pretty dress while being photographed which is an essential part of the trend now. So while I resonate highly with the aesthetic, there’s something in me that can’t fully embrace it and I think that something is my little Anne reminding me that if we spend our lives in escapism we can never grow and change. And I think at its core, (see what I did there?) “cottagecore” is escapism and fantasy at their worst. It’s been called a form of self-care by those who participate in it but at the same time they acknowledge that it’s inauthentic. “Cottagecore is all about finally feeling comfortable and at peace, even if that peace is fake,” Mx. Cavar said.” I don’t want fake peace. I want real peace. So while I am 100% a supporter of slow living, loving the world around you, getting back to basics, etc. I cannot condone escapism at least not as a lifestyle

Which brings me back to why I love Anne. You see, she did not have an easy life. At all. She was Harry Potter before Harry existed (but minus the vault at Gringotts with all the cash). She was poor, orphaned, neglected, and when she thought she was finally being plucked from her dismal life, she was rejected on the basis of sex. (Did you catch that one?). Anne delights in romance and imagination but she’s also honest to a fault and cannot live in inauthenticity. 

When accepting her engagement ring, she exclaims, “I’ll willingly accept the sorrow of life with its joy.” On the second happiest day of her life, she is reminded that life will indeed bring sorrow but with it comes glorious joy. 

I think 2020 has caused much sorrow and trauma that most of us aren’t likely to even understand at this point in time — which is why I’m genuinely concerned about the escapism aspect of “cottagecore” and it’s proponents. When we avoid reality, healing is delayed and we’re living a lie. Let’s not live a lie! Let’s not spend so much time curating fairytales and the “perfect life” and instead embrace the sorrow and the joy thrown at us. Let’s face today and tomorrow and the next day with grace and love and imagination and reality. 

Because the world is dark and full of terrors as George R.R. tells us but as Peter, Fran, and Philippa remind us in their adaptation of Tolkien, there is some good in this world and it’s worth fighting for. 

The world doesn’t need us to escape into the beautiful aesthetic of cottages and fairies. The world needs us to face the darkness every day and to fight back and bring light. Because as Gandalf reminds us in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, “It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” We weren’t called to be hobbits who stay in the Shire. We were called to be Bilbo, Frodo, Samwise, Peregrin, and Meriadoc — hobbits who embrace the discomfort of change in order to bring peace to the world. So do the things that bring you joy but don’t forget to do the hard things as well. Because we are called to be agape bringers in everything we do. (1 Corinthians 16:14). And as Michael Reeves reminds us, “love cares, and that means it cannot be indifferent to evil.”

So let’s not do that. Let’s bake our bread and dress up and take our photos but let’s make sure that in doing that we aren’t becoming indifferent to evil or avoiding the darkness of the world. Let’s be image bearers of Christ and shine those lights as bright as we can bringing hope and peace into a hopeless and tumultuous world, hope that isn’t founded on things that pass away (like internet trends or even “slow living”) but hope in Jesus who brings perfect, authentic, peace.