Anne of Green Gables

1. Anne of Green Gables A book of bosom buddies & kindred spirits.

2. Ch 2 • There's no one at the station except a little girl. Matthew figures he must be early until the stationmaster tells him the train came already and Mrs. Spencer left that orphan girl for him. • (Matthew's also afraid of little girls.) • He approaches the girl. She's thin, freckled, expressive, and waiting with a carpetbag.

3. QuotableS • "Yes, it's red," she said resignedly. "Now you see why I can't be perfectly happy. Nobody could who had red hair. I don't mind the other things so much—the freckles and the green eyes and my skinniness. I can imagine them away. I can imagine that I have a beautiful rose leaf complexion and lovely starry violet eyes. But I cannot imagine that red hair away. I do my best. I think to myself, "Now my hair is a glorious black, black as the raven's wing." But all the time I know it is just plain red, and it breaks my heart. It will be my lifelong sorrow."

4. QuotableS • Like many other speeches Anne makes about her hair, this one has the over-the-top language of tragedy. So it is laughable. Especially because there are so many legitimate tragedies in Anne's life, but she chooses her hair to be her lifelong sorrow. • Is happiness a choice? • Do we choose to be sad? • But she's also getting at that difference between how we imagine ourselves verses how we actually look. Anne's definitely not the only person who has been bothered by that difference.

5. QuotableS • She had intended to teach Anne the childish classic, "Now I lay me down to sleep." But she had, as I have told you, the glimmerings of a sense of humor—which is simply another name for a sense of the fitness of things; and it suddenly occurred to her that that simple little prayer, sacred to white-robed childhood lisping at motherly knees, was entirely unsuited to this freckled witch of a girl who knew and cared nothing about God's love, since she had never had it translated to her through the medium of human love.

6. QuotableS • Marilla is a little shocked when Anne tells her she doesn't pray, but at least she understands why.

7. QuotableS • Marilla is a little shocked when Anne tells her she doesn't pray, but at least she understands why. • If Anne doesn't know what love feels like, how could she understand what God is supposed to represent?

8. Ch 9 • Mrs. Rachel Lynde is Properly Horrified • Back to Mrs. Rachel Lynde. Remember her? The town gossip? We're told that the only reason she hasn't visited sooner to see Anne is that she's been ill until now. • So Mrs. Rachel Lynde arrives at Green Gables, and after describing her illness (grippe) to Marilla in great detail, she brings up Anne.

9. Ch 9 • And even before seeing her, Mrs. Lynde doesn't approve, reminding Marilla that she has no idea how to raise a child.

10. Ch 9 • Marilla calls Anne in to meet Mrs. Lynde. Anne arrives flushed from outside, still wearing her orphanage dress, with her hair all over the place. • Mrs. Lynde tells Anne the Cuthberts couldn't have chosen her for her looks. She calls her skinny and homely, points out her freckles, and compares her hair color to carrots.

11. Ch 9 • Anne doesn't take it lying down. She stomps her foot, tells Mrs. Lynde she hates her, calls her a rude, impolite, unfeeling woman, and asks her how she'd feel if someone told her she was fat, clumsy, and didn't have a spark of imagination. • Predictably, Marilla sends Anne to her room. • But once Anne's gone, Marilla tells Mrs. Lynde that she shouldn't have been so hard on her.

12. Ch 9 • Anne’s punishment?

13. Ch 9 • Now Mrs. Lynde is really angry. She has a lot of snide things to say to say to Marilla as she leaves the house in an outrage, including suggesting that Anne should be hit with a switch as punishment. • Marilla can't imagine whipping a child. • But she does come up with a nice, humiliating punishment: she orders Anne to apologize to Mrs. Lynde and ask for forgiveness.

14. Ch 10 • Anne's Apology • The standoff continues. Anne spends an entire day in her room, unwilling to apologize. • Seeing her supper tray return mostly untouched, Matthew sneaks into Anne's room and asks her to give in. • Anne agrees, saying she'd do anything for Matthew. (Aww.)

15. Ch 10 • Anne tells Marilla she's ready, much to Marilla's relief. Marilla walks her to Mrs. Lynde's, and Anne starts to look excited instead of sorry. Marilla asks her what she's thinking about and Anne says she's planning what to say. • When she sees Mrs. Lynde, Anne kneels before her and recites a heartfelt apology, saying it will be her "lifelong sorrow" if Mrs. Lynde doesn't forgive her. • Because when Anne does anything, she commits!!!

16. Ch 10 • Marilla starts to feel like her punishment failed because Anne is enjoying it too much. • Mrs. Rachel Lynde only hears the sorrow in Anne's voice and is totally won over. • When Anne leaves to pick flowers, Mrs. Lynde says that even though Anne is odd, she sees why Marilla wanted to keep her. She thinks it's better to have a child with a temper that cools down quickly than to have a sly, underhanded kid. • Explain.

17. Ch 11 • Anne's Impressions of Sunday School • Marilla has bought some clothes for Anne. But unfortunately for Anne, they're very plain. The best thing Anne can think to say about them is that she will imagine that she likes them. • Anne tells Marilla she was hoping for a dress with puffed sleeves. Puffed sleeves = trendy in the mid- to late-1800's. • Marilla thinks Anne's desire is vain. She thinks clothes should be functional and nothing else.

18. Ch 11 • Anne's Impressions of Sunday School • Marilla has bought some clothes for Anne. But unfortunately for Anne, they're very plain. The best thing Anne can think to say about them is that she will imagine that she likes them. • Anne tells Marilla she was hoping for a dress with puffed sleeves. Puffed sleeves = trendy in the mid- to late-1800's. • Marilla thinks Anne's desire is vain. She thinks clothes should be functional and nothing else.

19. Ch 11 • Anne's Impressions of Sunday School • Marilla has bought some clothes for Anne. But unfortunately for Anne, they're very plain. The best thing Anne can think to say about them is that she will imagine that she likes them. • Anne tells Marilla she was hoping for a dress with puffed sleeves. Puffed sleeves = trendy in the mid- to late-1800's. • Marilla thinks Anne's desire is vain. She thinks clothes should be functional and nothing else.

20. Ch 11 • Marilla isn't feeling well, so she sends Anne to church by herself. She tells Anne to stop by Mrs. Lynde's and ask her where the family pew is. • Anne leaves the house embarrassed of her plainness, but soon comes up with a crafty solution. She picks a bunch of flowers and puts them in her hat, so it looks like a flower wreath.

21. Ch 11 • When Anne returns home, she tells Marilla she didn't like Sunday school. Marilla is shocked. • Then Anne goes into one of her speeches, telling Marilla all her thoughts about church and Sunday school. • Some of Anne's thoughts: Mr. Bell's opening prayer was too long, the minister's sermon was uninteresting because he doesn't have enough imagination. • Marilla secretly agrees with Anne but would never let her know.

22. Ch 12 • A Solemn Vow and Promise • Marilla hears about Anne's flower crown at church and scolds Anne about it. Anne's upset because she had no idea that would have made Marilla mad. • Marilla takes Anne next door to visit a girl her age, Diana Barry. Anne's nervous Diana won't like her but Marilla says it's Diana's strict mother that Anne should be worried about.

23. Ch 12 • When they arrive, Mrs. Barry sends Diana and Anne outside into their gorgeous flower garden. • Anne immediately asks Diana if she will swear to be her friend forever. • Wow, Anne. No pressure… • After Anne explaining that swearing an oath is not the same thing as cursing, Diana agrees. They say their oath, and Diana says that Anne is "queer" (meaning weird), but she likes her anyway.

24. Ch 12 • On the walk home, Anne happily tells Marilla about the many plans she and Diana have made. • Then Matthew shows up with chocolates from the store. • Jackpot! • Marilla's annoyed but lets Anne have them. Anne asks Marilla if she can give half of them to Diana.

25. Ch 12 • That night, Marilla tells Matthew that she's glad Anne's generous, because she hates stingy children. And she grudgingly admits she's getting fond of Anne.

26. Ch 13 • The Delights of Anticipation • Late for her sewing, Anne runs into the house one afternoon to tell Marilla about an upcoming Sunday school picnic. Anne describes the picnic like it's going to be the best party in the world. Oh, and there's going to be ice cream there, which Anne's never had before.

27. Ch 13 • Marilla agrees to let her go and promises to bake her a basket. Anne's so grateful she kisses her. Marilla's freaked out by how much she likes being kissed and makes Anne do her patchwork. • Why is Marilla shocked? • Anne sits down with her patchwork and plunges into another speech: • the playhouse she and Diana have set up between their farms, how she'd love to faint because it seems romantic, how she couldn't bear the disappointment of the picnic being cancelled if there was bad weather.

28. Ch 13 • Marilla points out that Anne has talked for ten minutes without stopping. • For the next week, Anne's all about the picnic. • She tells Marilla she grew cold from excitement when they made an announcement about it in church. • Marilla worries that Anne gets too excited about things, and that her life will be full of disappointment. • But Anne argues that it's better to have fun looking forward to things than to expect nothing.

29. Ch 13 • Marilla wore her amethyst brooch to church, which we're told is her heirloom and most prized possession. Anne loves the brooch too.

30. Ch 12 • Marilla wore her amethyst brooch to church, which we're told is her heirloom and most prized possession. Anne loves the brooch too.

31. Ch 14 • Anne's Confession • Anne is shelling peas when Marilla walks in and asks if Anne took her amethyst brooch. • Anne admits to trying it on, but she says she returned it to Marilla's bureau afterward. • Marilla re-checks the bureau and her whole bedroom, but no brooch. So she returns to Anne and accuses her of lying.

32. Ch 14 • Anne refuses to confess, so she's sent to her room. It's the same punishment as earlier: stay in your room until you do the thing. In this case, confess. • What bugs Marilla more than a missing brooch is the idea that there's a child in her house who lies and can't be trusted. She tells as much to Matthew the next morning, but Matthew's completely willing to stay out of this one.

33. Ch 14 • The next day, Marilla searches for the brooch and Anne stays in her room. In the evening, Marilla tells Anne she can't go to the picnic until she confesses. • So the next morning, Anne "confesses." • She tells Marilla she took the brooch and accidentally dropped it in the Lake of Shining Waters. But she says it all without any feeling, like she's reciting something.

34. Ch 14 • The next day, Marilla searches for the brooch and Anne stays in her room. In the evening, Marilla tells Anne she can't go to the picnic until she confesses. • So the next morning, Anne "confesses." • She tells Marilla she took the brooch and accidentally dropped it in the Lake of Shining Waters. But she says it all without any feeling, like she's reciting something.

35. Ch 14 • A super-annoyed Marilla forbids Anne from going to the picnic. Matthew tries to persuade her otherwise, but Marilla's foot is down. • But later, when Marilla goes to mend her black shawl, she finds the brooch caught in it.

36. Ch 14 • What REALLY happened?

37. Ch 14 • Anne admits she made up the story of dropping it into the lake so she could go to the picnic. Marilla apologizes and sends Anne there with some food. • The picnic doesn't disappoint. Afterward, Anne tells Marilla that she had tea, was rowed around the lake, and tasted ice cream. • Marilla tells Matthew that she thinks Anne will turn out all right.

38. Ch 15 • A Tempest in the School Teapot • Notice that this chapter title is a little less clear than the rest. It's a reference to the idiom "a tempest in a teapot" which means making a big deal over something small. • Other, similar, expressions?

39. Ch 15 • A Tempest in the School Teapot • Notice that this chapter title is a little less clear than the rest. It's a reference to the idiom "a tempest in a teapot" which means making a big deal over something small. • Other, similar, expressions? • Mountain out of a molehill. • Big to-do over nothing. • elephantem ex musca facere

40. Ch 15 • Anne's first day of school goes well. Afterwards, she tells Marilla about it in her long-winded way—how she's only on the fourth reader while the rest of her age group is on the fifth, and how everyone says the teacher Mr. Phillips is in love with an older student named Prissy Andrews. • (Oh, and just a note to make this slightly less creepy: students in this area went to a short teaching school when they were sixteen, so Mr. Phillips is probably only a of couple years older than Prissy.)

41. Ch 15 • Three weeks into school, Diana tells Anne that a boy named Gilbert Blythe will be back from vacation, that he's on the same reader as Anne (he missed a lot of school when his dad got sick), and that he teases all the girls. • Anne sees Gilbert that day, tying another girl's braids to her chair. • That afternoon, Gilbert tries to get a daydreaming Anne to notice him by grabbing her braid, and whispering "carrots" at her.

42. Ch 15 • Oh, people of Avonlea. You should know by now that You Don't Talk About Anne's Red Hair.

43. Ch 15

44. Ch 15 • Anne calls Gilbert a "mean, hateful boy" (15.37) and cracks her slate over Gilbert's head. • Gilbert tries to take the blame, but Mr. Phillips makes Anne stand in the front of the class room with a note over head: "Ann Shirley has a very bad temper. Ann Shirley must learn to control her temper" (15.47).

45. Ch 15 • That's right—he forgot the "e."

46. Ch 15 • Gilbert tries to apologize, but Anne's just not over it. • The next day Anne gets in trouble for coming in from lunch late, even though a bunch of other kids came in late as well. Mr. Phillips makes her sit on the boys' side of the room, next to Gilbert Blythe.

47. Ch 15 • During their afternoon as desk-mates, Gilbert tries to give Anne a candy heart that says "you're sweet" and Anne grinds it down with her shoe. Bad timing, Gil. • Anne tells Marilla she's never going back to school.

48. Ch 15 • Marilla doesn't want to get into another standoff, so she goes to Rachel Lynde for advice. Rachel suggests letting Anne stay home and waiting for it to blow over, rather than battling out this one. She thinks Mr. Phillips is a bad teacher and Anne won't miss much anyway.

49. Ch 15 • Marilla doesn't want to get into another standoff, so she goes to Rachel Lynde for advice. Rachel suggests letting Anne stay home and waiting for it to blow over, rather than battling out this one. She thinks Mr. Phillips is a bad teacher and Anne won't miss much anyway. • So Anne stays home and hangs out with Diana after school.

50. Ch 16 • Diana is Invited to Tea with Tragic Results • Marilla has a ladies meeting one afternoon, so she tells Anne she can invite Diana over for tea. • Anne's really stoked to do this, since hosting a tea seems like a grown-up activity.