The Netflix series Anne With An E has made its return to the streaming giant with Season 2, which premiered earlier in July—but the series has taken surprising steps to incorporate more inclusion, including revealing one of the main character’s same-sex relationship.
Aunt Josephine (Deborah Grover) was a fan favorite from the original Anne of Green Gables books, which Anne With an E is based on. In Season 1, it was revealed that her connection with Anne (Amybeth McNulty) and encouragement of her explorations are rooted in similar feelings of knowing that she is different than the other residents of Green Gables.
In an interview with IndieWire, series creator Moirea Walley Beckett talked about the show’s reveal of Aunt Josephine’s sexuality through her relationship with Aunt Jo in Season 1:
“Upon reading again as an adult, I was wondering about Aunt Jo,” said Walley-Beckett. “In the book, she’s a spinster and she’s just a bit of a curmudgeon, and that’s kind of it. So I’m like, ‘Well, she coming to the Barrys for a month and she’s grieving,’ that’s why I decided to justify why she’s there: Who is she grieving?”
In the first season, Aunt Jo was mourning the death of a person thought to be Aunt Gertrude—Aunt Jo’s partner. It was revealed later on that the two cohabitate without the financial support of a man; unusual for two women at the time (which would later be referred to as a “Boston marriage”). The two were indeed a lesbian couple.
Season 2’s inclusion of the queer soirée—an annually hosted event that Aunt Jo and Aunt Gertrude threw—furthered the importance of including queer representation within the show, and having a way of bringing in other queer figures of the time.
The Netflix series Anne With An E has made its return to the streaming giant with Season 2, which premiered earlier in July—but the series has taken surprising steps to incorporate more inclusion, including revealing one of the main character’s same-sex relationship.
Aunt Josephine (Deborah Grover) was a fan favorite from the original Anne of Green Gables books, which Anne With an E is based on. In Season 1, it was revealed that her connection with Anne (Amybeth McNulty) and encouragement of her explorations are rooted in similar feelings of knowing that she is different than the other residents of Green Gables.
In an interview with IndieWire, series creator Moirea Walley Beckett talked about the show’s reveal of Aunt Josephine’s sexuality through her relationship with Aunt Jo in Season 1:
“Upon reading again as an adult, I was wondering about Aunt Jo,” said Walley-Beckett. “In the book, she’s a spinster and she’s just a bit of a curmudgeon, and that’s kind of it. So I’m like, ‘Well, she coming to the Barrys for a month and she’s grieving,’ that’s why I decided to justify why she’s there: Who is she grieving?”
In the first season, Aunt Jo was mourning the death of a person thought to be Aunt Gertrude—Aunt Jo’s partner. It was revealed later on that the two cohabitate without the financial support of a man; unusual for two women at the time (which would later be referred to as a “Boston marriage”). The two were indeed a lesbian couple.
Season 2’s inclusion of the queer soirée—an annually hosted event that Aunt Jo and Aunt Gertrude threw—furthered the importance of including queer representation within the show, and having a way of bringing in other queer figures of the time.
There’s also hints of this in the character of Cole (Cory Gruter-Andrew), Anne’s classmate. His interactions with teacher Mr. Phillips (Stephen Tracey) also dive further into the struggles of coming to grips with one’s identity. But as Beckett says, that remains as important to show in the adaptation as any other part of life in Green Gables:
“I am just so proud to be a part of something that can offer this to people and I hope to all the kids too who are struggling with their gender identity, who may not have the empathy or understanding around them that they need,” she said, “that they see that it’s possible to have it if they find the community, they see that it’s possible to find safe haven.”