"The Courting of Prissy Strong" is a short story by Lucy Maud Montgomery published in Chronicles of Avonlea in 1912.
Description[]
Plot[]
Appearances[]
Characters
- Rosanna
- Thomas
- Priscilla Strong
- Emmeline Strong
- Stephen Clark
- Althea Clark neé Giddy (mentioned)
- Stephen Leonard
- Naomi Clark (mentioned)
- Lizzie Pye (mentioned)
- Jane Miranda Blair (mentioned)
- Jane Lawson (mentioned)
- Anne Shirley
- Diana Barry
- Roger Pye (mentioned)
Places
Miscellaneous
Behind the scenes[]
Story notes
- The story gives little to no clue about its time setting, but it mentions Anne Shirley coming home from Redmond College that summer and visiting Carmody with Diana Barry, Rosanna's relative. The approximate time setting can be determined from Anne of the Island, published after Chronicles of Avonlea. During her stay in Valley Road, Anne mentions, "Mrs. Stephen Clark of Carmody persists in being most grateful to me for a suggestion which somebody else would probably have made if I hadn’t."[1] It appears that by that point, the Clarks have been married for a while. Anne accepted the position as a substitute teacher in Valley Road in June 1886, right after her third year at Redmond and around the time of Diana's wedding.[2] Moreover, she was supposed to teach through July and August, which would not allow her to come home to intervene in the Clarks' romance. The events of "The Courting of Prissy Strong" must have taken place in the summer of 1884 or 1885, after Anne's first or second year at college. Montgomery most likely did not take Diana's marriage into account while writing this story, and her surname Barry should not be an indicator of a time setting. Nevertheless, Diana got married the same summer Anne left for Valley Road and she should have been able to accompany Anne to Carmody the previous summers, while still being named Barry.
- "The Courting of Prissy Strong" features a rare reference to another Chronicles of Avonlea short story. It mentions Naomi Clark's death, which took place in "Each in His Own Tongue". It would mean that "Each in His Own Tongue" is also set in 1884 or 1885.
References[]
- ↑ Anne of the Island (Chapter 31: Anne to Philippa)
- ↑ Anne of the Island (Chapter 29: Diana's Wedding)