The Blue Castle was written by L.M. Montgomery in 1926. I read it for a book club, and I absolutely loved it.
This is a story about a young woman named Valancy who has been repressed (mostly by her family) for her whole life. Her strict mother won't let her do anything she wants. Novels are banned in the house, she's not allowed to go outside in the winter because she catches colds, and her mother doesn't even like the idea of her being alone in her room, so she can't escape the madness. On top of all this, Valancy is single at age 29 (the horror!) and is rather unattractive. All of her relatives keep reminding her of this, but also keep asking why she isn't married.
Then Valancy finds out that she's dying. She has a heart condition which is incurable, and her doctor predicts she will be dead within the year. He recommends avoiding anything too exciting, frightening, or requiring exertion. However, Valancy has never had anything really happen to her at all, and decides that, instead of living the last year of her life as a vegetable, she's going to get out there and take back the life that's been stolen from her.
With no fear of the future or of any consequences worse than death, Valancy starts standing up to her relatives, refusing to do what her mother requires and openly disagreeing with her other relatives. She goes to work for the local drunkard and take care of his disgraced daughter. And, as it's a romance novel, I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that she also pursues love.
While the book doesn't have a lot of action, I somehow found that I couldn't put it down. I think a big part of that is due to the characters. Valancy's family are annoying but hilarious in their caricature natures. Valancy herself is pretty funny once she discovers her sass. Also, I think I just wanted to see how it would all work out for her, whether she would find the happiness she was seeking. And whether she would die from excitement or if somehow she'd be cured and get to keep living her happy life.
I have to say at the beginning I wondered if Montgomery had fooled me into sympathizing with the kind of person I would actually hate in real life. Valancy voices her dislike for everything around her before discovering she's dying. Her room, her clothes, her hair, her relatives. When everything displeases you, the common factor is you. But finally Valancy acknowledges that the reason her life is do terrible is because she's afraid of everything. Mostly afraid of offending her relatives. I was glad she realized she had to make a change, not the people around her. It did get me wondering what fears I have that hold me back.
I also really loved Montgomery's commentary on polite society. In a community full of Christians, no one will go look in on poor Cissy Gay, the girl who returned pregnant from a summer away from home and is now dying of consumption. Valancy is the only one willing to step down from her reputation to take care of and befriend her. Christianity means nothing if it is only for appearances.
There were only two things I had a hard time with, and one of them is a spoiler. The one I can tell you about is about fear vs duty. Valancy vows not to let fear control her any longer, and stops caring what her relatives think about her. However, she also starts acting kind of rudely to them. Wasn't she just complaining about how rude they were to her? Isn't there a balance between disregarding someone's opinions about you and disregarding their feelings? Also, Valancy's new life is rather leisurely; no one tells her when to get up, where to go, what to do. Which is just what she wanted. But in trying to find happiness I think we all still have duties that we need to face and accept. It is possible to be happy, please others, and be part of organized society.
Still, overall this was a great little book. It wasn't until after I finished that I realized Montgomery was the same L. M. Montgomery who wrote Anne of Green Gables. That explains it.
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