Anne of Green Gables study guide

Anne

Anne is an orphan whose longing for a home makes rejection painful, while her imagination later becomes shared storytelling. Her choice of home, teaching, study, and friendship suggests growth without abandoning a hopeful future.

Key chapters: 3, 26, 38

Marilla

Marilla chooses to keep Anne, and Anne's broken ankle later reveals the depth of her feelings. After Matthew dies, her declaration of love shows care becoming something she can express openly.

Key chapters: 6, 23, 37

Matthew

His sudden death after news of the bank failure ends this steady source of support.

Key chapters: 3, 25, 37

Diana

Diana becomes Anne's devoted friend through promises and shared plans, but an innocent mistake with a drink separates them.

Key chapters: 12, 16, 18

Gilbert Blythe

Giving up the Avonlea teaching position shows kindness replacing competition and opens the way to friendship.

Key chapters: 15, 30, 38

Mrs. Lynde

Mrs. Lynde questions the adoption plans and later wounds Anne by insulting her appearance. Her eventual approval of Anne's decision against college shows how community judgment remains part of Anne's life.

Key chapters: 1, 9, 38

Miss Stacy

Miss Stacy makes learning exciting through recitations, nature outings, exercises, and performances. Her later advice about the Second Year course shows how encouragement can develop into practical guidance for Anne's ambitions.

Key chapters: 23, 24, 34

Belonging

Anne's longing to belong begins before she knows whether she can stay, and Marilla's decision gives that hope a practical foundation. Her later pleasure in returning from a town visit shows home becoming an attachment she recognizes for herself.

Where it shows: chapters 2, 8, 29

Imagination

Imagination offers Anne comfort when her place at home remains uncertain, but imagined ghosts also turn an ordinary errand into fear. Her shared storytelling suggests that this power becomes more useful when it creates something others can enjoy.

Where it shows: chapters 4, 20, 26

Ambition and Care

The scholarship and college plans show ambition giving Anne a direction beyond her immediate surroundings. Her decision to support Marilla while continuing teaching and private study suggests that changing a plan need not mean giving up the desire to grow.

Where it shows: chapters 34, 36, 38

Puffed sleeves

Clothes show Anne's wish to feel less apart from others when plain dress troubles her. Matthew's gift of puffed sleeves works as a sign of care that strengthens her courage.

Chapters 11, 25

Amethyst brooch

The brooch first suggests the attraction of beauty through Anne's fascination with it. Its disappearance then works as a test of judgment, ending with Marilla acknowledging that she is wrong.

Chapters 13, 14

Avery scholarship

The Avery scholarship works as a sign of the possibilities opened by study. College plans set beside illness and uncertain savings suggest that achievement cannot remove every uncertainty about the future.

Chapters 34, 36

Matthew Cuthbert, Chapter 3. Matthew speaks while Anne faces being sent away. His suggestion shows care shifting the question from what the household needs to what it can offer.

Marilla, Chapter 14. Marilla speaks after discovering the missing brooch in her shawl. Her admission shows that authority can include correcting a mistaken judgment rather than defending it.

Anne, Chapter 34. Anne speaks as the scholarship gives her another goal during her studies. The line suggests that achievement expands her sense of possibility rather than satisfying ambition completely.

Marilla, Chapter 37. Marilla speaks to Anne in their grief after Matthew's death. The line shows belonging surviving loss through the love and support they can still give each other.