From Conformity to Resistance: The Beauty Myth in L.M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables

Hidayat, Nur Intan Manylanti (2026) From Conformity to Resistance: The Beauty Myth in L.M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables. S1 thesis, Universitas Andalas.

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Abstract

This research analyzes the beauty myth in L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (1908) by focusing on its depiction through cultural standards adapted in a town called Avonlea. It occurred in Canada during the early 20th century, where beauty became a necessity for women. Cultural standards, including beauty ideals, contribute to preventing the main protagonist from expressing her existential freedom. The analysis employs Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth and Simone de Beauvoir’s theory of Existentialist Feminism to understand the significance of the beauty myth in shaping women’s individuality and values. The study showcases two main cultural forces: social and media influences in the novel. Socially, the people living in the town used domestic and public judgment to evaluate Anne’s appearance and behavior. Meanwhile, the media helps frame Anne’s perception of beauty through fashion and literary representations, serving as its medium. Fashion is associated with the popular fashion items in early 20th-century Canada, which affects Anne’s understanding of beauty. Alongside it, the books Anne reads reveal the ideals of the perfect heroine, building her perspective of proper femininity. Collectively, both social and media influences lead to Anne’s conformity and resistance to the cultural standards of the beauty myth. In this sense, Anne’s conformity is evident as she ties her self-worth to her appearance. Moreover, this study also reveals Anne’s resistance towards the beauty myth by becoming a subject who is able to define her own life. Ultimately, Anne of Green Gables (1908) portrays the beauty myth as a mechanism that traps Anne in contradictory stages of immanence and transcendence to reclaim her existential freedom.

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