Raised by the Book: What Ellen, Jo, and Anne Teach Us about Reading and Girlhood in the Victorian Era

Abstract

I present a study of the female protagonists of The Wide, Wide World; Little Women; and Anne of Green Gables in terms of reading and play. I posit that the lives of the girls depend on what and how they read, and insight to their reading can be gained by examining when their play interacts with their books. I also employ the use of mise en abyme to understand the overall purpose of their reading (and playing) and the contribution these characters make to the lives of their own potential readers.