L.M. Montgomery’s Short Story: ‘The Unforgotten One’

Even on a festive occasion, a loved one is not forgotten. Simol1407/Shutterstock

In her short story “The Unforgotten One,” L.M. Montgomery follows Nanny in her grief for a lost friend and, through Nanny, shares a message of hope and joy in times of our grief. Montgomery reassures us that despite our sorrow, we can find hope, joy, and lessons in treasuring the memory of our loved ones.

Christmas Eve Gathering

It is Christmas Eve at Ingleside and light pours from the windows. All of the grown children return home with their families to spend the holiday there. Fritz, Margaret, Laddie, Nora, and Robert’s two boys arrive to a warm welcome from mother and father.

Gathering around the fireside, their company is one less than it was last Christmas. Avis—their dear adopted daughter, sister, cousin—is gone, but no one mentions this. They smile and laugh, recounting instead the events of the year to each other.

Yet Nanny, one of the maids, stands apart from the jolly family circle and swallows her tears. Nanny misses Miss Avis, whom none of the family seem to notice is gone, and angrily resents the family’s jollifications, wondering how they could forget Miss Avis.

Evening Visit

Unable to bear the family’s forgetfulness, Nanny and Avis’s dog, Gyppy, head out to visit Avis’s grave. Upon arriving, Nanny immediately begins lamenting: “Oh, Miss Avis! ... There ain’t a day passes but I think of you and all the things you used to say to me, and I try to be good like you'd want me to do. But I hate them for forgetting you.”

Sitting by the grave, Nanny is suddenly startled by approaching footsteps and quickly hides behind some of the headstones. She is surprised when the person turns out to be Fritz, come to pay his respects to his sister. He approaches with a sorrowful step, roses in hand. In a sad tone, he says, “Dear Avis, once again I thank you for all you have been to me—all you are yet.”

After Fritz leaves, Nanny is surprised to see each member of the family come to Avis’s grave in turn. They all express their sorrow at their loss of her, confiding in her memory and telling her how they try to be good, as she had wanted. More flowers and more love arrive, all to the happy astonishment of Nanny.

‘Say Not Goodnight’

Through Nanny’s journey of realization, Montgomery shows a beautiful picture in which each member of the family proves that they have not forgotten Avis. They confide their thoughts, feelings, grief, and wishes with Avis, just like they used to. Even now, Avis brings hope and light, impacting the people around her. Though gone, her love softens the loss and promises hope for the future.

In his poem “In Memoriam,” Alfred, Lord Tennyson says: “I hold it true, whate‘er befall;/ I feel it, when I sorrow most;/ ’Tis better to have loved and lost/ Than never to have loved at all.” These words are extremely important as Christmas arrives, along with the memory of our lost loved ones. In our sorrow, Tennyson’s words ring true, for we must endeavor to cherish the memory of our loved ones even while grieving.

Difficult and sorrowful memories may surround us this holiday season, but let us treasure the remembrance and love of those whom we will never forget. We must write on our hearts the words that Avis left on her headstone: “Say not good night, but in some brighter clime bid her good morning.”

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