Mistress Pat

As she grows into womanhood, Pat continues to love Silver Bush more than she could possibly love any man... or so she thinks. But change is coming, and even Pat’s determination can’t hold it back.

Ugh, this book is so unnecessary. I’m heading into a spoiler-filled rant here: If Pat had just married Jingle at the end of the first book, it would have been lovely. But no, she has to be all stubborn about never leaving Silver Bush. So, in the second half of this book, we see the destruction of everything she loves. Gentleman Tom leaves, Sid marries Pat’s worst enemy, Rae goes off to China, Judy dies, and then the freaking house burns down and Jingle comes back and literally proposes to her in the ashes. No matter how much I want this show more couple to get together, I cannot feel good about that.

I’ve always been bothered by that to some extent, but on this read I was also irked at Montgomery’s casual fat-shaming, which unfortunately runs through many of her works, but is particularly egregious here. Fatness is always a character flaw when it’s mentioned, never a neutral descriptor. Fat characters are lazy or stupid or crass (Mrs. Binnie, for instance, is all three, and because she weighs over 200 pounds, there’s apparently not a chair in Silver Bush that can hold her), and they serve as comic relief. Fat characters are undeserving of love (one of Pat’s old flames is later described as — horrors! — having gotten plump and middle-aged, so of course Pat spurns him again, and Rae flippantly jokes that one of her suitors might get fat with age, and then she couldn’t love him anymore). And don’t get me started on Mrs. Merridew. I’m maybe a touch bitter and sensitive on the topic, but I had a hard time getting through this reread. I love the first book in this duology, but maybe next time I will pretend that this one never happened. show less

Originally published in 1935, this sequel to Pat of Silver Bush just happens to be the last of L.M. Montgomery's novels that I had not yet read, making the experience of completing it rather bittersweet. Continuing the story of Pat Gardiner, whose love for her home at Silver Bush, and for her circle of friends and family, is as strong as ever, it is spread out over eleven years, with an multi-part chapter devoted to each.

The domestic traditions of Silver Bush, the widening social and romantic lives of Pat and her sister Rae (formerly Cuddles), the magical stories of Judy Plum and the new hired man, Josiah Tillytuck, all combine to fill Pat's days with happiness. But always, something is missing. Is it simply foreboding at the inevitable show more changes, such as Sid's marriage, that lie ahead? Or does Pat need something that Silver Bush cannot supply?

There is much here to enjoy, from Montgomery's lovely passages devoted to the natural beauty of Prince Edward Island, to the emotionally resonant ups and downs of sisterhood. And of course, the heartwarming presence of the Silver Bush kitties is always a winner! But if I'm honest, Mistress Pat simply isn't Montgomery at her best. Despite having "grown up," Pat still moves from three-dimensional character to caricature, upon occasion. The slapdash resolution, which crowds a death, a terrible catastrophe, and an unexpected epiphany into the last twenty pages, somehow isn't very convincing. In another author, this might have earned a two-star demotion, as it is, this is one Montgomery title I probably won't revisit very often. show less

When she was twenty, nearly everyone thought Patricia Gardiner ought to be having beaus--except of course, Pat herself. For Pat, Silver Bush was both home and heaven. All she could ever ask of life was bound in the magic of the lovely old house on Prince Edward Island, "where good things never change." And now there was more than ever to do, what with planning for the Christmas family reunion, entertaining a countess, playing matchmaker, and preparing for the arrival of the new hired man. Yet as those she loved so dearly started to move away, Pat began to question the wisdom of her choice of Silver Bush over romance. Was it possible to be lonely at Silver Bush?

This has traditionally been one of my less favored Montgomery novels. However, I finally realized that Pat's obsession with Silver Bush is not supposed to be healthy. Read through that light, the novel takes on a new shape. Although in structure, it falls into the category of Montgomery's other novels, in theme it is more akin to the realism of the mid-twentieth century. This is a novel of a woman who turns away from opportunities at happiness again and again because she has convinced herself that life is only meaningful because of the house she lives in. Even the ending, which one could take as simply a happy ending, leaves one wondering if the simple explanation is correct or if Pat is only accepting it because everything else has show more been stripped away from her.

And Pat's obsession does not just destroy her own happiness. Her hatred of change feeds a denial of her sibling's ability to make their own life choices affects them. She temporarily ruins her relationship with her sister because she felt she had the right to decide who was good enough for Rae. And while Sid certainly deserves his own share of credit for his unhappy marriage, I suspect that May was not the only woman put off by the idea of coming to live in a house where Pat would always insist on being mistress.

In the end, I don't know whether or not the two Pat books are a successful pair of novels. I do, however, think that they provide a fascinating insight into Montgomery as a writer. show less

Rereading an old favorite. Good things in here, terrible things in here. Still a stirring story, for all I’ve lost patience with marriage and old maid mores. Left me weeping and annoyed, but glad to read it again for all that.

At twenty years old, Pat Gardiner has very little interest in beaus, marriage, or leaving her beloved home, Silver Bush. As the years pass though, Pat must constantly face off against that constant enemy of change and determine if loving her home is all she really needs to get her through the rest of her life.

Regardless of her characters, there is something so satisfying about sinking into an L.M. Montgomery novel and immersing yourself in her language which evokes a place and time that seems untouchable. Technically part of a duology, it took me a bit to place who every character was and the book does include a major spoiler for the previous book but not much appears to be lost by reading the books out of order. Pat and all the other show more characters who build up her world are thoroughly charming and with episodes that will leave you laughing out loud as well as ones that will leave you sniffing back tears, the book is a delight from start to finish. show less

Mistress Pat doesn't hold up quite as well upon revisiting it as an adult... The issue of flimsy characters persists from the last book, though there is a good solid core of well written people, namely Pat herself, Judy Plum, Cuddles/Rae, and Tillytuck. Everybody else had no life in them apart from their interactions with these characters.

I found it harder and harder to relate to Pat's passionate attachment to her house... Pat's obsession with it really did get in the way of some of her friendships. There wasn't as much growth as I like to see in a character, and frankly, I find it unfortunate that she didn't end up with Hilary until after she literally had nothing except the clothes on her back. She acts like the scales have fallen show more from her eyes and she now realizes she loves him, but wouldn't that choice have been more meaningful if life hadn't beaten her into the state of having no other option? If, instead, she matured a little and decided to grab hold of a chance for a loving, stable relationship?

I think the same observations I made about the first book apply here. L.M. Montgomery's life was plunged into depression by the mania of her husband. Just the fact that these books got written in the midst of the madness is a triumph and a testament to Montgomery's devotion to her craft. show less