The Blue Castle

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The Blue Castle is a 1926 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, best known for her novel Anne of Green Gables (1908).

[edit] Plot summary

The Blue Castle is the story of Valancy Stirling, a 29 year-old "spinster" who is unloved, friendless and ridiculed by her domineering family. It takes place in the early 1920's in the fictional town of Deerwood, located in the Muskoka region of Ontario, Canada. Valancy is a homely and quiet girl with few accomplishments until she learns she suffers from angina and has only a year to live. She immediately rebels against her rigid upbringing and strict, unloving family, deciding to live her last year as a free-spirited and joyous young woman. The Blue Castle examines the possibility of changing one's destiny by eliminating fear and casting aside the rules and prejudices inflicted by society (in this case, symbolized by Valancy's narrow-minded family). The most colorful and memorable character in this novel, along with Valancy, is Barney Snaith, a handsome free-thinker and rugged individualist who also questions authority in an era when people were expected to do their duty. As Valancy begins thinking for herself, her life changes and becomes more mystical and fulfilling than she ever dreamed possible.

In the beginning, her 29th birthday seems to be coming near and so does the possibility of her becoming an old maid. She also seems to have some heart pain. She decides to go visit Dr. Trent, known best for his heart medicines, secretly, since, if her family knew, it would take so long to arrange a family meeting, decide what to do, and then visit the family doctor, which is three miles away. It seems futile, as Dr. Trent ignores her when he discovers his son was injured in a car accident. A few days later, she receives a letter from Dr. Trent stating bluntly that she has a heart disease and will only live for a year. After this letter, she decides to "throw caution to the winds". She does everything she desires and doesn't care a bit for her family, who are a bit flabbergasted at her new behaviour. She leaves her mother and Cousin Sickles to live with Roaring Abel (who has quite a nasty reputation as a drunkard) as a housekeeper and take care of Cissy, a dying girl who got pregnant before she became married (her baby only lived for a year) and now is an outcast from society. There, she meets Barney Snaith, who also has a nasty reputation driving around in his deafeningly loud old car. Soon, Cissy dies and even Valancy's family comes to the funeral, hoping now that Valancy will come back home and to her past life. But that does not seem so, as Valancy asks Barney to marry her, out of pity, it seems, when she shows him Dr. Trent's note. Barney agrees, and they marry in an old abandoned church with a minister who does not seem to mind what they're wearing. After that, Barney takes her to his island, where Valancy states that she has found her "Blue Castle" (she used to dream about a "Blue Castle" where she did everything she wanted and had many lovers). They have a great time living there, and a year later, something happens that makes Valancy doubt Dr. Trent's note. Valancy, wearing her foolishly pretty high heels, walks along with Barney in the woods, where there's a railroad station. Then, one of her heels gets caught in a crevice of the switch, when the train's coming down on them. In thirty seconds, Barney tries to pull of her shoe and succeeds, just when the train is about to hit them. Valancy then starts to doubt Dr. Trents note, which said that *any* amount of excitement might be fatal for her. She goes to Dr. Trent, and realizes that he mixed up the note with another woman who's last name is Sterling. She begins to feel guilty that now Barney's chained to her, believing that he thought he would be single again in a year. After the visit to Dr. Trent, Barney's father comes to find him. Valancy, at first, doen't know who he is. But when he states his name, she finds out he's Dr. Redfern, a millionaire, and Barney, who ran away from home, is his son, Bernard Snaith Redfern. After a while, she leaves a note on Barney's desk and leaves for her mother's home. She reveals the truth about her heart and everything. When they find out about Dr. Redfern, they're as shocked as Valancy herself. Uncle Benjamin suggests that she "leave it all up to him". The next day, Barney comes to find her, and says why he ran away. He also tells her that he did marry her out of pity, but soon loved her as much as she loved him. Then they leave for a real honeymoon in all the beautiful places of Rome, Egypt, and Italy, using Dr. Redfern's 2 million dollars wedding gift.

This novel is considered one of L.M. Montgomery's few "adult" work of fiction, along with A Tangled Web, and is the only book she wrote which takes place outside of Prince Edward Island. It has grown in popularity since being republished in 1990.

Deerwood is based on Bala, Ontario, which Montgomery visited in 1922, with maps of the two town matching up closely.

[edit] External links

• The Blue Castle - online text from Project Gutenberg
• An L.M. Montgomery Resource Page Resource for all things L.M. Montgomery, includes The Blue Castle Encyclopedia and more on Valancy
• Bala's Museum The setting for The Blue Castle
• The Blue Castle: A Musical Love Story a 1997 musical adapted from the book by Hank Stinson