Anne with an "e"

What is a kindred spirit?

Webster's New College Dictionary defines a kindred spirit as an "individual with the same beliefs, attitudes or feelings as oneself." The term's long cultural history and relevance in how we interact with others provides us insights into our desire for love and deep connections with people. Kindred spirits are identified as having an almost otherworldly attachment to each other, with bonds that are very difficult to break.

I first saw Anne of Green Gables in junior high.  It is a feel-good mini series about an orphan who steals the heart of everyone she meets when she is adopted by a brother and sister.  If you haven't seen it, I recommend it--especially if you have kids.  It's the kind of movie to watch when you are stuck at home sick and can't get out of bed.  I promise it will make you feel better no matter who you are or what kind of movies you like.

Anne is a mischievous girl with an active imagination and has survived the rigors of her lonely orphanage life by dreaming of  one day meeting a kindred spirit and having a bosom friend.


"Marilla," she demanded presently.  "Do you think that I shall ever have a bosom friend in Avonlea?"

"A--a what kind of friend?"

"A bosom friend--an intimate friend, you know--a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul.  I've dreamed of meeting her all my life.  I never really supposed I would, but so many of my loveliest dreams have come true all at once that perhaps this one will, too.  Do you think it's possible?"

Anne finally meets her bosom friend, Diana Barry, and many other kindred spirits in Avonlea including Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert who adopt her,  Miss Stacey, her teacher, and eventually even Gilbert Blythe, the annoying boy in school who called her "Carrots."  She comes to the realization that "kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think.  It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."

To Anne's surprise and extreme delight, she finds Marilla thinks she is also a kindred spirit! 

Marilla looked at Anne and said, "I think you may be a kindred spirit after all."