Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables

by

L. M. Montgomery

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Anne of Green Gables: Chapter 23: Anne Comes to Grief in an Affair of Honor Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
A week later, Diana gives a small party for the girls in her class. After tea, the girls wander into the garden and begin “daring” each other, a fashionable game in Avonlea in that period. Dares usually involve innocuous things like climbing a tree or hopping around the garden on one foot. Anne dares Josie Pye, whom she can’t stand, to walk the top of the fence, which Josie handily does. Then Josie dares Anne to walk the ridgepole of the Barrys’ roof. The girls give a gasp of horror as Anne walks toward a ladder. Diana begs her not to accept such a dangerous dare, but Anne says her honor is at stake. If she dies, Diana can have her favorite ring.
One of Anne’s faults is her pride, and as the rivalry with Gilbert has shown, she especially can’t bear being shamed in front of someone she doesn’t like. And her imagination gives her an exaggerated, romantic sense of “honor” that makes her more likely to get into mishaps.
Themes
Beauty and Imagination Theme Icon
Mishaps, Milestones, and Growing Up Theme Icon
Anne climbs onto the roof, gains her balance, and begins tentatively walking the ridgepole. She finds that having a good imagination isn’t much help in this scenario. After a few steps, she sways and loses her balance—soon sliding down the side of the roof as the girls scream. Thankfully, she falls on the less steep side of the roof and into a tangle of vines, but she looks very pale. It becomes clear that her ankle is broken, so Mr. Barry carries her to Green Gables with all the girls trailing behind.
Though Anne’s imagination got her into this situation, she quickly finds that imagination has its limits when she’s faced with a scenario that calls for physical skill. Unfortunately, this is also a situation that involves genuine danger, not imaginary threats.
Themes
Beauty and Imagination Theme Icon
Mishaps, Milestones, and Growing Up Theme Icon
When Marilla sees Mr. Barry approaching with a limp Anne in his arms, she feels such fear that she realizes that Anne is “dearer to her than anything else on earth.” Anne lifts her head and tells Marilla to look on the bright side; she might have broken her neck instead. Then she faints. Later that day, after the doctor’s visit, Anne sadly tells Marilla that she lacked the strength of mind to resist Josie Pye’s dare, and that this accident is punishment enough. She’ll have to stay at home for weeks and will miss the new teacher’s start.
Despite Marilla’s gruff exterior and inability to show her love openly, she has developed a deep love for Anne by this time; her fear for Anne makes this clear. Though the incident turns out to be much less of a disaster than it could have been, it’s yet another mishap that teaches Anne about one of her shortcomings—in this case, the folly of misplaced pride.
Themes
Mishaps, Milestones, and Growing Up Theme Icon
Anne’s imagination, as well as many visits from school friends, does her good over the next seven weeks. Mrs. Allan visits her 14 times, and Anne is grateful that she doesn’t moralize about Anne’s accident, unlike Mrs. Lynde. But Anne can’t wait to return to school. Diana reports that Miss Stacy has the biggest puffed sleeves in Avonlea and often holds classroom recitations or field trips for nature study. Mrs. Lynde thinks such suspicious innovations are what comes of hiring a lady teacher, but Anne is sure that Miss Stacy will prove to be a kindred spirit.
By this time, Anne has developed many good and faithful friends in Avonlea who help her through the weeks of injury and isolation. Even without having met Miss Stacy, Anne suspects that, considering her puffed sleeves and imaginative ideas in the classroom, Miss Stacy is sure to be another such friend.
Themes
Beauty and Imagination Theme Icon
Friendship Theme Icon
Mishaps, Milestones, and Growing Up Theme Icon
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