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Finding home : food and identity in selected works by L. M. Montgomery

Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2024.

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Other Authors: Noomé, Idette
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2025
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Noomé, Idette
author_browse Noomé, Idette
author_facet Noomé, Idette
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2024.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:07.698Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
publisher University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/100478 Finding home : food and identity in selected works by L. M. Montgomery Noomé, Idette ddedekind@ymail.com Dedekind, Daniella Sigrid UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Identity formation Lucy Maud Montgomery Cooking in L.M.Montgomery Food in L.M.Montgomery Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2024. Food is not merely nutritional; it is deeply meaningful emotionally, culturally, intellectually and creatively. This study analyses how the depiction of food and food experiences in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne novels relates to identity formation and belonging – to finding home. The novels examined are Anne of Green Gables (1908), Anne of Avonlea (1909), Anne of the Island (1915), Anne of Windy Poplars (1936), Anne’s House of Dreams (1917), Anne of Ingleside (1939), Rainbow Valley (1919), Rilla of Ingleside (1921) and The Blythes are Quoted (2009). The study traces evidence of Montgomery’s own interest in food, evident from her life and autobiographical writings such as her journals, and two cookbooks drawing on her own recipes and complementing the novels. Using food studies as a lens, this study shows that the characters form a sense of self, and a social identity, helping them find home or belonging in themselves and their communities, in their experiences of food preparation (cooking), food distribution rituals, and eating. The Anne novels reveal that food preparation duties are a core aspect of the identities of Montgomery’s female characters. Montgomery portrays some of these duties as restrictive in terms of their rules and gendering, but also demonstrates that they can be a tool for female empowerment and agency. The plethora of mealtimes depicted in detail in Montgomery’s fiction allows readers to trace the socialisation of characters, especially Anne Shirley, helping them find acceptance and belonging in the culture of Avonlea or Glen St. Mary. For children such as Anne, learning to cook – or for Davy, learning to eat in an appropriate manner – marks maturation into socially connected people. Especially for Montgomery’s girls and women, cooking, and eating together helps them to establish deep intra- and intergenerational social connections, creates companionship, and facilitates emotional relationships and shared experiences. Finally, food facilitates identity formation by providing characters with physical, emotional and creative nourishment within the specific cultural space of Prince Edward Island in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This analysis demonstrates that belonging can be found in the kitchens and around the dining tables of Montgomery’s Anne series. English MA (English) Unrestricted Faculty of Humanities SDG-03: Good health and well-being SDG-05: Gender equality SDG-10: Reduces inequalities SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production 2025-02-03T23:41:18Z 2025-02-03T23:41:18Z 2025-05 2024-11 Dissertation * A2025 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100478 n/a en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Identity formation
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Cooking in L.M.Montgomery
Food in L.M.Montgomery
Finding home : food and identity in selected works by L. M. Montgomery
title Finding home : food and identity in selected works by L. M. Montgomery
title_full Finding home : food and identity in selected works by L. M. Montgomery
title_fullStr Finding home : food and identity in selected works by L. M. Montgomery
title_full_unstemmed Finding home : food and identity in selected works by L. M. Montgomery
title_short Finding home : food and identity in selected works by L. M. Montgomery
title_sort finding home food and identity in selected works by l m montgomery
topic UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Identity formation
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Cooking in L.M.Montgomery
Food in L.M.Montgomery
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100478