Anne Of Green Gables

Finally, they arrive at Mrs. Spencer’s home in White Sands Cove. After a warm welcome from Mrs. Spencer, Marilla reveals that a mistake has been made—that she and Matthew had asked for a 10- or 11-year-old boy, not a girl. Mrs. Spencer is shocked beyond belief at the confusion and claims that she had received word that the Cuthberts wanted a girl. Marilla takes the blame for the mix-up, as she should have delivered the information to Mrs. Spencer personally.

When Marilla asks if the orphanage will take Anne back, Mrs. Spencer replies that there is no need. Mrs. Blewett, a local woman, has asked for an orphan girl to help raise her children, and therefore, the mistaken delivery of Anne is quite fortuitous. Marilla quickly contemplates Mrs. Blewett, whom she knows well as a “small, shrewish-faced woman” (52) who often makes quick work of her servant girls by being a “terrible worker and driver” (52). She wonders how she could possibly surrender Anne to these conditions. Suddenly, Mrs. Blewett herself arrives, and Mrs. Spencer is excited by the potential of settling this matter immediately.

Anne, who has been listening to this exchange, is visibly upset and on the verge of tears. She knows she will be returning to the same type of life she has left behind. Mrs. Blewett rudely sizes Anne up and points out all she lacks but says she will take her home immediately. Marilla sees Anne’s distress, “the misery of a helpless little creature who finds itself once more caught in the trap from which it had escaped” (54), and suddenly finds herself unable to turn Anne over to this woman’s clutches. She tells the ladies that she must return home so she and Matthew can discuss keeping Anne at Green Gables.

This brief glimpse of hope invigorates the crying Anne, and she rushes to Marilla to ensure that she has heard correctly. Marilla returns to her normal curtness in the face of such open emotion and replies that the decision is not final yet. As they arrive back at Green Gables, Matthew waits by the gate, visibly relieved that Anne is still with Marilla. Marilla tells him about Anne’s life story, and Matthew vehemently argues that Anne cannot go to Mrs. Blewett. Marilla has initial misgivings about raising Anne themselves but finally agrees that she can stay, as long as Matthew promises to stay out of her way in the raising of Anne. Matthew is tickled by this turn of events and assures Marilla that Anne is “one of the sort you can do anything with if you only get her to love you” (57). Internally shocked by her own decision, Marilla decides not to tell Anne until the next morning. 

As Marilla takes Anne upstairs to the east gable room, she critiques Anne for leaving her clothes all over the floor the night before. Seeing it as an opportunity to begin Anne’s civilized training, she teaches Anne to put her things away in an orderly fashion. However, Anne’s ignorance of normalized behavior comes to a head when she reveals she does not say evening prayers, which shocks Marilla to the core. Anne knows who God is—or who the asylum said God is—but she thinks of God and prayer more along the lines of beautiful poetry instead of faithful reality.

Marilla, convinced that Anne must be “a very bad little girl” (59), promises to teach Anne the ways of the Lord immediately. Anne dutifully agrees, and Marilla asks her to kneel and say a prayer of her own choosing. What emits from Anne’s lips is more of a business letter than a prayer, and she ends it with two pleas: that God will allow her to “stay at Green Gables” and “be good-looking when [she] grow[s] up” (61). Marilla almost faints from the blasphemy of it all and thinks to herself that she will teach Anne a proper prayer tomorrow.

As Marilla returns to Matthew in the kitchen, she is more determined than ever to help Anne find her way, thinking that she is all that stands between Anne and a Godless existence. She vows to enroll Anne in Sunday school as soon as possible.

Instead of telling Anne first thing in the morning, Marilla chooses to put her through a trial run first, issuing various odd jobs here and there and watching how Anne handles chores. Although she is impressed by Anne’s intelligence, she does find that Anne has a “tendency to fall into day-dreams” (63). Finally, a trembling Anne asks Marilla if she and Matthew have made up their minds, and Marilla confirms that Anne will be staying at Green Gables. Anne cries heavily in her excitement and asks Marilla what she should call her, suggesting the normal terms of “Aunt” or “Miss,” but Marilla rejects both, even amidst Anne’s wistful remark that she “never had an aunt or any relation at all” (65). However, Marilla stands her ground, and just plain “Marilla” it will be.

Anne’s vivid imagination takes over once more, and she is distracted from the rest of her work. Marilla reminds her that she should be studying The Lord’s Prayer, but Anne cannot focus. She asks if Marilla thinks she will ever have a “bosom friend—an intimate friend” (68) in Avonlea. Though Marilla cannot understand the need for amplified terminology, she tells Anne that Diana Barry lives next door and is about Anne’s age. Amid Anne’s excitement, Marilla cautions her that Diana’s mother, Mrs. Berry, is “a very particular woman” (68) who will not want her daughter associating with bad little girls.

Undeterred, Anne blissfully shares with Marilla the story of two of her former bosom friends—Katie Maurice and Violetta, imaginary friends she developed in her former homes. Marilla thinks that Anne needs a real-life friend to bring her out of these imaginations. Believing that Anne will never stop talking if she has an audience, Marilla sends her to the east gable room to finish memorizing her prayer. Instead, Anne sits and talks to herself, imagining herself as a regal lady in a palace. However, when she looks in the mirror, she considers how lucky she is to merely be “Anne of Green Gables” (71). 

Two weeks after Anne’s arrival at Green Gables, Mrs. Rachel Lynde stops by to investigate the new addition, who has been the talk of the town’s curiosity. Mrs. Rachel spends the first part of her visit boring Marilla with talk of her previous illness, while Anne spends the time traipsing among the large orchard surrounding the home, completely transfixed by the wondrous flowers and plants.

While Anne is still outside, Mrs. Rachel questions Marilla as to why they didn’t return Anne immediately. Marilla admits that, while the thought had crossed her mind, “the house seems a different place already” (75) with Anne there. In her typical fashion, Mrs. Rachel harps on the uncertainty of orphan children and chides Marilla for biting off more than she can chew. Suddenly, a fresh-faced and exuberant Anne rushes in, still wearing the raggedy old dress from her orphanage days. Immediately, Mrs. Rachel makes an unkind comment about Anne’s looks, specifically pointing out Anne’s red hair and freckles—the two greatest banes of her existence. The effect on Anne is instantaneous: flushed with anger and trembling, she shouts, “I hate you—I hate you—I hate you” (76) at Mrs. Rachel, following it up with a critical account of Mrs. Rachel’s looks and attitude.

Marilla and Mrs. Rachel are horrified by this outburst. Marilla immediately sends Anne to her room, but when Mrs. Rachel makes a snide comment about the outburst, Marilla chides Mrs. Rachel for making fun of Anne’s appearance. Mrs. Rachel, stunned by Marilla’s defense of the orphan girl, storms back to her own home.

Marilla must speak to Anne about her behavior but cannot determine what the right thing is to say. She knows she must punish Anne but cannot bear to take a “birch switch” (79) to her, as Mrs. Rachel suggested. She finds Anne crying on the bed and softly critiques her treatment of Mrs. Rachel. Even through her tears, Anne is defiant and does not regret her actions. Though Marilla feels that Anne is slightly justified, she demands that Anne apologize to Mrs. Rachel the next morning. Anne adamantly refuses and asks for any other possible punishment, which Marilla denies, telling Anne she must stay in her room until she apologizes. As Marilla goes back downstairs, she has to stifle a laugh.