One day when Anne comes in from outside, she hears Marilla’s panicked voice. Matthew has fainted. Marilla tells Anne to get Martin, the hired farmhand. They tell Martin what has happened, and he leaves immediately for the doctor. Mrs. Lynde is nearby. When she hears the commotion, she comes running. Gently, she pushes Marilla and Anne to the side, takes Matthew’s pulse, and puts her ear to his chest. When she looks up at the women, tears are in her eyes. She tells them there is nothing they can do for him. Matthew has died. When the doctor arrives, he suspects that Matthew’s heart must have given way. He wonders if Matthew had received any shocking news. Martin tells of a letter he had picked up from the post office and delivered to Matthew that morning. When Anne and Marilla search Matthew’s pockets, they find the note. It is from the bank, announcing its failure.

By the afternoon, Matthew is laid out in a coffin, which is placed in the parlor. Anne has gathered old-fashioned flowers from the flowerbeds Mathew’s mother had planted. Anne knows how much Matthew had loved those blossoms. When Diana comes over, she offers to spend the night to help Anne through her emotions. Anne tells her she hopes Diana understands, but right then she prefers to be alone. It is only in silence, Anne thinks, that she will be able to fully grasp her loss. Diana does not really understand. She has special difficulty in comprehending Anne’s dry eyes. She does not know why Anne does not cry. Marilla, on the other hand—the one woman Diana has known to control her emotions through every situation—is downstairs bawling like a baby. Nonetheless, Diana leaves Anne to work through her sorrow.

It is not until after Anne has slept a few hours and then reawakened that she completely realizes the burden of her loss. She thinks of Matthew’s smile and his sweetness toward her. When she acknowledges that he is gone forever, she breaks down and cries. The sound awakens Marilla, who comes into Anne’s room to soothe her. Marilla tells Anne that crying does no good, even though she had given in to her tears earlier in the day. She tries to help Anne by saying that God knows best, but Anne does not want to hear this. Anne tells her that the tears do not hurt like the ache she had felt before she started crying.

Anne then asks Marilla to stay with her. Anne feels comforted by having Marilla’s arms around her. She wants Marilla to help her figure out what they will do without Matthew. Marilla answers that they at least have one another. Marilla does not know what she would do if she did not have Anne right then. With her emotions so roused, Marilla apologizes to Anne for being so strict with her as she was growing up. She wants to make sure that Anne understands how much she loves her.