AN ODE TO GILBERT BLYTHE

On this day last year, I heard about the death of Jonathan Crombie on the 15th April 2015. On this day last year, my heart broke. Jonathan Crombie is best know for his role as Gilbert Blythe in the 1985 TV movie version of 'Anne of Green Gables', which is undoubtedly the best version of 'Anne of Green Gables' there is. It is no secret that 'Anne of Green Gables' is my favourite book of all time, and it's unsurprising that the 1985 version is my favourite movie of all time, and in honour of that I wanted to write a post about it.

Gilbert Blythe, oh Gilbert Blythe, the not-so-secret love of my life, the dream of millions of girls everywhere. Oh Gilbert Blythe, I shipped you and Anne long before I even knew what shipping was. The ultimate OTP. 'Anne of Green Gables', the book and the movie, were such a huge part of my childhood and still are such a huge part of my life. I must have been around 7 years old when I first read 'Anne of Green Gables', that's 12 years ago now, and I've read it countless times since. I think that this is the reason that Jonathan Crombie's tragically early death affected me so much; he's not just Gilbert, he's not just Megan Follow's Gilbert, he's MY Gilbert; and I truly felt my heart break when he died. Your favourite book is not just something you love, it's something that is actually part of you, and this death hurt me more than even David Bowie's or Alan Rickman's earlier this year.

And so I wanted to talk about Gilbert. The dream of all women. You don't just want to find your soul mate, you want to find your very own Gilbert Blythe. (Who'll maybe whisk you away to Prince Edward Island and live with you on that small piece of heaven off the coast of Canada). To paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett Browning, how do I love thee, Gilbert Blythe, let me count the ways.

'Anne of Green Gables' the story, the characters, the cast, the setting (Prince Edward Island is my dream) make my heart physically hurt. I can't eloquently put into words how much I love it. It feels like coming home. But we're here to talk about Gilbert, not the series as a whole, or we'll be here all night. Gilbert was never not solid and wonderful and good. He let Anne be herself and he loved her for it. Gilbert is honestly the rock you want in your own life, there is nothing wrong with him, he has no flaws, even though I spend most of the time screaming at him and Anne to realise their love for each other and screaming some more when they finally do. For me, at least, Gilbert Blythe symbolises a lot of things that are right in the world.

But bringing it back to Jonathan Crombie, the reason I'm here writing this. His significance is more than just playing Gilbert Blythe, he brought Gilbert to life. He gave him a true, lasting identity, from when we first see him pulling Anne's plaits, to the heartbreaking scene when we think he might die (that gets us every single time), to that heart-stopping, swoon-worthy scene on the bridge, where we all cry because we love them, we cry because it's finally happened, we cry over that damn beautiful speech, but we also cry a little bit out of jealousy because Anne has him and we don't and because he doesn't exist. Jonathan Crombie was, is and always will be Gilbert Blythe, and his impact over my life will be lasting.

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

Rosie