What L.M. Montgomery’s most fearless heroine teaches us about the path of true transformation …
The first time I read The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery, I didn’t love it.
I enjoyed it, but I didn’t consider it some of Maud’s greatest work (in league with Anne of Green Gables and the Emily of New Moon trilogy).
I thought Valancy Stirling’s transformation from passive to active, doormat-to-heroine-of-her-life, was humorous and entertaining, but somewhat unrealistic and not all that inspiring.
But when I read The Blue Castle for the third time, it resonated in a completely different way.
Now, I think it is some of Maud’s best work (and probably her funniest novel!), and it has became a personal favorite heroine novel of mine.
So what changed?
Short answer: I did.
As far as being unrealistic, I think the title should be the first clue to the fairy-tale themes of the book. But aside from the many tropes found in the story, Valancy’s journey from half-asleep (metaphorically) to wide-awake heroine, fully accountable for her decisions, is portrayed in a uniquely powerful way.
When it comes to portraying the true Heroine’s Journey–surrender that leads to receiving the beautiful gift of life that is a heroine’s birthright in the end–I’ve never read anything else like it.
Once Valancy decides to start living the life of her choosing, instead of simply going along with the one her strict and stifling relatives have carved out for her, it ruffles a few feathers, to say the least.
As a peacemaker by nature, those ruffled feathers were a little uncomfortable to read about in my first reading. As justified as I believed Valancy was to begin living her own life, I wondered to myself, “but must she be so rude? Is she not overcompensating just a little?”
In short: Isn’t there a less offensive way to become ones truest self??
Between my first and third reading, I went through a Really Difficult Season — a season which revealed that some of the patterns in my life I viewed as peaceful were actually my attempts to not relinquish control.
I realized that the only solution to changing my habits was surrender. And do you know what happens when you decide to let go?
Just like with Valancy, the story that unfolds can be a little hard to stomach.
Yes, perhaps Valancy could have been more gracious toward her family, could have been less abrasive … But the fact is, she is fumbling through The Middle for a very good reason: she is in completely unfamiliar territory.
She didn’t know any other way of getting through The Middle.
The most important lesson I’ve learned from Valancy is this: The Middle is messy.
It’s just a plain hard fact of The Middle.
And the bigger the transformation needed, the messier The Middle will be.
So much of the time, I don’t feel comfortable moving forward until I’m sure I can do it in a way that is subtle and secluded — i.e. won’t cause any trouble to those around me.
But the degree of transformation we are willing to undergo typically matches our degree of surrender.
The more reluctant we are to go all in, the smaller the results will be.
But when we surrender everything, like Valancy, we can expect to be changed completely.
An important clarification: Transformation is messy, yes, but that doesn’t mean all the actions of the heroine in The Middle are justified. I made mistakes in my own messy middle just like Valancy.
The point is: it’s okay to reach for what you know is true and good before you are able to fully understand how to take hold of it. Doing so can be terrifying, but oftentimes it’s unavoidable.
The alternative to a Messy Middle is to stay right where you are and pretend you are right where you want to be.
Valancy did that for many, many years.
Of course a heroine should never strive to create confusion or chaos; she should never strive to inconvenience others. She should never use the messiness of her middle as an excuse to be unkind or flippant.
But the more I read Valancy’s story, the more I realize that great humility is needed in order to become who you were created to be. It’s a humility that is born of desperation.
Valancy is desperate to live her life fully before she dies. She mourns all the years she spent not receiving the great gift of her one and precious life. It is only when she decided to hold out her hands and receive what she was too scared to receive for so many years, that she becomes willing to endure the unknowns of The Middle.
This is how she becomes a truly courageous heroine!
The good news, Valancy teaches us, is that The Middle —when it is driven by humble surrender—can only lead to one thing: life more abundant.
And what heroine doesn’t want that?
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