Emily Of New Moon

What do you think Douglas means when he tells Emily that their God and Ellen’s God are not the same? How does this conversation introduce the theme of The Nature of God?

When the Murrays come to Douglas’s funeral, Ellen tells Emily that she should hope Aunt Ruth takes her in, but Emily wants to live with Aunt Laura. Which Murray relative would you most want to live with? Why? Give specific details from the text to support your answer.

Emily of New Moon is set during the Victorian period when Queen Victoria ruled England. This period is characterized by a strong sense of social propriety and strict rules about gender roles and behavior. What are some examples of these social concerns, and what kind of statement does Montgomery appear to be making about them in how she portrays them?

What are some characters’ conceptions of and attitudes toward God? How do their life experiences inform how they feel about God and religion? How are these views and attitudes relevant to modern audiences?

In Anne of Green Gables, Anne calls people with whom she has a mutual understanding and shared connection “kindred spirits.” In Emily of New Moon, Emily is very different from many of the people she meets. Who are her kindred spirits, and what qualities make them so?

In Emily of New Moon, Montgomery employs the “free indirect discourse” technique to give additional insights into characters and situations from the narrator with an ironic detachment from Emily’s perspective. How does the narrator’s perception of Aunt Elizabeth differ from Emily’s? Give examples from the text to support your answer.

In Emily’s frequent letters to her father, she often mentions details about her friends Teddy, Perry, and Ilse that might suggest to her father—and to readers—that there is some romantic tension and jealousy between the four friends. However, Emily seems mostly oblivious to these dynamics. What are some examples of details where the reader is meant to infer something about their relationships that Emily doesn’t yet understand?

Throughout the novel, Emily refers to “the flash” and “the Alpine Path.” What are these two things, and how do they relate to Emily’s writing? How do they relate to the theme of Creativity and Self-Expression?