The Characters
The novel is densely peopled by a rural community about its everyday business. Although there is a pastoral quality to the writing, Montgomery’s characterization does not idealize. Characters have faults and virtues; many have icy exteriors with softer hearts. Only Anne’s two role models are idealized: They are presented as Anne would see them, on pedestals, rather than as rounded personalities. The contrasting presentations of Mr. Phillips and Miss Stacy exemplify this characterization dichotomy; however poor a teacher Phillips is, he can be imagined in real-life terms. It is difficult to do this with Miss Stacy.
The novel is dominated by Anne’s strong, willful, and brilliant character, which is revealed through a series of episodes that usually fit a pattern. Anne typically experiences a situation, reconstructs its reality imaginatively, goes through a catastrophe, then experiences contrition, punishment, and insight; finally, she becomes reconciled to reality. However, several episodes depart from this pattern significantly. In one, Anne has to nurse a sick child through the night. Her bravery and initiative are shown here as constructive rather than as compensatory fantasy. The episode demonstrates both the degree to which Anne has grown up and also the community’s gradual recognition of her real qualities. As she grows into mid-adolescence, Anne’s successes outweigh her failures; her characterization perhaps becomes sentimentalized at times because of this.
Traditional village life is personified in Marilla and Matthew, yet both are individually characterized. Matthew’s desperate shyness fights with his fondness for his orphan charge. Anne’s natural and unaffected ability to communicate with him thus seems all the more poignant. By contrast, Marilla is portrayed as the one who both suffers from Anne’s catastrophes and administers the traditional moral wisdom to counter them. Montgomery manages to show both the limitations of such wisdom as well as the genuine concern behind it that makes it acceptable.
By contrast, Montgomery supplies an unloving moralist in Mrs. Rachel Lynde, the village know-all and conscience. One of Anne’s first outbursts of anger is directed against this moralism. The fact that Marilla sides with Anne marks an important move for her. If Mrs. Lynde represents convention, Montgomery supplies an antidote in Miss Barry, Diana’s rich maiden aunt, who takes a fancy to the “Anne-child,” recognizing in her the free spirit she is herself. Significantly, she lives in town.
Anne’s school friends are realistically portrayed. Although none has Anne’s imaginative and verbal dexterities, they are portrayed as a good-natured bunch. Only Josie Pye has the ability to make herself objectionable. The girls are most strongly characterized—Diana particularly, in her engagement with Anne’s imaginative life at first and then in her domestic situations. It is she who unobtrusively gives Anne the friendship she needs to allow her to let go of her imaginary persona. Yet it is never a feminized society: Montgomery well portrays the gradual growth from preadolescent to adolescent feelings between the sexes, with its growth of consciousness of differentiation, problematized for Anne by her antipathy to Gilbert Blythe. Preadolescent enmity gradually erodes, with great difficulty, to adolescent acceptance. For contemporary readers, these adolescents have maturity thrust upon them: It is difficult to realize that at the end Anne can hardly be seventeen and yet is ready to begin her career as village schoolteacher.
Themes and Characters
Anne of Green Gables begins with an orphanage mistakenly sending eleven-year-old Anne Shirley to the Cuthberts, who originally wanted to adopt a boy. Matthew Cuthbert takes pity on Anne and insists she stay at Green Gables. Anne finds a "kindred spirit" in Matthew, and she transforms...
(This entire section contains 649 words.)
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his life. A reserved bachelor, his concern for Anne compels him to overcome his intense shyness around girls and women and to become more attuned to others' feelings. His pride in her drives Anne to excel, and his death profoundly affects her.
Matthew's stoic sister Marilla reluctantly agrees to adopt Anne. Describing herself as an "old maid," Marilla has no prior experience raising children. Believing she needs to be especially strict to counterbalance her brother's "softness," Marilla never shows amusement, seldom praises Anne, and never misses a chance to impart lessons in morals or etiquette. Although she feels as much love and pride for Anne as Matthew does, she conceals her emotions until Anne is hurt.
The residents of Avonlea, Anne's new rural home, often misunderstand her vivid imagination and the sophisticated vocabulary she insists on displaying. Her impulsiveness and quick temper further complicate her relationships with neighbors and classmates. Despite these challenges, Anne is overjoyed to have a home of her own. Her imagination, which sometimes lands her in trouble, also comforts her when she feels lonely or bored, helps her see the best in others, and aids her adjustment to her new life.
Upon Anne's arrival in Avonlea, her harshest critic is the Cuthberts' nearest neighbor, the ultimately kind-hearted gossip Mrs. Rachel Lynde. Although she never fully understands Anne or appreciates her unique beauty, Mrs. Lynde eventually accepts her almost as one of her own children. Two of Anne's schoolmates also play significant roles in the novel. Diana Barry, Anne's first friend in Avonlea, is her physical opposite and embodies Anne's ideal of beauty. Diana, with her dark hair, dimples, and plump figure, is more conventional and less imaginative than Anne but readily follows her friend's lead. On the day they meet, Anne and Diana exchange a vow of "bosom friendship" that remains strong throughout the series.
"Do you think you could like me a little— enough to be my bosom friend?"
Another schoolmate important to Anne's growth is Gilbert Blythe, who becomes more significant as the series progresses. Anne's only intellectual equal in the Avonlea school, Gilbert teases her so much that she refuses to speak to him for much of Anne of Green Gables. Their rivalry spurs them to greater academic achievements, and Anne's anger gradually subsides until, in the final chapter, they become friends.
Anne's exceptional intelligence and imagination underscore Montgomery's theme that girls are just as capable as boys. After getting to know Anne, the Cuthberts wonder why they ever wanted to adopt a boy. They learn that people should be judged on their individual merits, regardless of gender.
Throughout the novel, Montgomery underscores that outward appearances and initial impressions can be misleading. For example, Mrs. Lynde initially describes Anne as an unattractive child, and Anne herself accepts this judgment. She is described as pale, tall, slender, awkward, with overly large eyes and bright red hair. However, by the story's conclusion, others perceive Anne as both graceful and beautiful.
Montgomery also highlights the difference between genuine goodness and merely appearing to be good. Anne is depicted as a good person because she is both honest and considerate. In contrast, the inconsiderate tattletale Josie Pye uses the truth to harm others. Due to her insensitivity, Josie cannot be deemed a good person.
Similar to many authors from the early twentieth century, Montgomery incorporates explicit lessons on proper conduct. In Anne of Green Gables, she cautions readers against excessive pride. Anne's pride frequently leads to unhappiness for both herself and others. Each time she manages to overcome her pride, she gains a new friend and achieves a desired goal.
