Walter and Faith?

This is something that I've been wondering about for quite a while. In most of the stories I've read that revolve around Anne's children and their lives before the war, the authors have it that Walter is in love with Faith, based on the comment in RoI that he wrote sonnets to her. I must confess, I never thought of him as actually being in love with her, but rather, that he used her as his muse, or inspiration, or something of that sort. Granted, I first read RoI when I was fairly young and naive, and so the idea of both Walter and Jem being in love with the same girl wouldn't really have occured to me. However, I also would have thought that had he really been in love with Faith it would have been mentioned more plainly, such as when he and Rilla were having their final talk, or when he wrote his last letter to her, or something. So, I guess I'm wondering what you all think? Do you think LMM meant for both Walter and Jem to be in love with Faith?
4 Responses
  1. Unknown Says:

    I don't think that Walter is really in love with Faith. I think that it's just teenage infatuation that we all had to go through and grow through.
    Whether or not Montgomery intended it to be that way, I don't know, but in "Rainbow Valley," we read of Walter and Faith doing things together more than Faith and Jem though Faith seemed to already have a preference for Jem


  2. Anonymous Says:

    I don't think Walter was really in love with Faith...[though it's fun writing about him being so!]...more like he was infatuated with her, like most people say. He loved beauty and Faith was beautiful. But Walter/Faith would never have worked - and Faith never seemed to think of him beyond friendship in both RV and RoI. Faith and Jem always seemed to belong together, somehow! I do wish LMM had elaborated more on her comment about the sonnets, though.


  3. Anonymous Says:

    I do have to add that I agree Walter/Faith seems more pronounced in RV. It's as though LMM was hinting at a Walter/Faith pairing in RV, then changed her mind and did a Jem/Faith, Walter/Una. I don't think Jem/Faith was ever mentioned in RV at all.


  4. Anonymous Says:

    i thought she was a muse, too. i must have been equally naive!

    i don't think LMM hinted at a Walter/Faith pairing.... really... Faith thought Jem was handsome and Una thought Walter was handsome when they met at the train station.