Belonging to Place

Gendered Nature and Female Agency in L. M. Montgomery’s Emily Trilogy

Abstract

This essay examines gendered nature and female agency in Canadian children’s author L. M. Montgomery’s Emily trilogy. Focusing on the spruce and maple grove known as “Lofty John’s bush,” this essay argues that the trilogy frames nature as a site of feminine power under heteropatriarchal control. In Emily of New Moon (1923), the heroine leverages social authorities to defend the bush from male dominance. In Emily Climbs (1925), she associates the bush with her childhood sweetheart while an older suitor begins leading her towards other, more oppressive, spaces. Finally, in Emily’s Quest (1927), she comes to believe that environmental preservation necessitates participation in the capitalist institutions that threaten nature. By entwining Emily’s bodily autonomy with her defence of feminized landscapes, the trilogy reimagines nature not merely as background but as the foundation of female agency. Ultimately, Emily’s struggles with men and social expectations reveal how agency, belonging, and environmental stewardship are intertwined with—and ultimately constrained by—gendered authority.