Pithy moral axioms—as well as Anne's defiance of them—recur in Anne of Green Gables to remind the reader of her independence. For example, in Chapter 5, Marilla asserts that peoples' names do not matter so long as they behave themselves:
“I guess it doesn’t matter what a person’s name is as long as he behaves himself,” said Marilla, feeling herself called upon to inculcate a good and useful moral.
Here, Marilla feels obligated to "inculcate" a "moral" in Anne. However, Anne resists, quoting Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and doubting that "a rose would be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage." Her humorous interpretation shows boldness, intelligence, and willingness to challenge the snappy moral sayings that Marilla accepts without much critical thought.
Anne also defies the saying that "Children are to be seen and not heard" in Chapter 2, a common 19th-century idiom:
It’s such a relief to talk when one wants to and not be told that children should be seen and not heard. I’ve had that said to me a million times if I have once. And people laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, haven’t you?
Here, Anne expresses relief at Matthew Cuthbert's quiet acceptance of her fanciful chatter. She asserts her own "big ideas" and never refuses a chance to share her opinions. She defies this lesson and many others throughout Anne of Green Gables, always giving reasonable explanations of why they are wrong. Despite the fact that moral sayings often sound good, they do not always make logical sense. Anne's character might be unruly, unpolished, and prone to mistakes, but she remains admirably honest and unbothered by stifling social customs. The motif of moral idioms, along with Anne's consistent refusal to accept them, highlights Anne's independent intelligence.
Pithy moral axioms—as well as Anne's defiance of them—recur in Anne of Green Gables to remind the reader of her independence. For example, in Chapter 5, Marilla asserts that peoples' names do not matter so long as they behave themselves:
“I guess it doesn’t matter what a person’s name is as long as he behaves himself,” said Marilla, feeling herself called upon to inculcate a good and useful moral.
Here, Marilla feels obligated to "inculcate" a "moral" in Anne. However, Anne resists, quoting Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and doubting that "a rose would be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage." Her humorous interpretation shows boldness, intelligence, and willingness to challenge the snappy moral sayings that Marilla accepts without much critical thought.
Anne also defies the saying that "Children are to be seen and not heard" in Chapter 2, a common 19th-century idiom:
It’s such a relief to talk when one wants to and not be told that children should be seen and not heard. I’ve had that said to me a million times if I have once. And people laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, haven’t you?
Here, Anne expresses relief at Matthew Cuthbert's quiet acceptance of her fanciful chatter. She asserts her own "big ideas" and never refuses a chance to share her opinions. She defies this lesson and many others throughout Anne of Green Gables, always giving reasonable explanations of why they are wrong. Despite the fact that moral sayings often sound good, they do not always make logical sense. Anne's character might be unruly, unpolished, and prone to mistakes, but she remains admirably honest and unbothered by stifling social customs. The motif of moral idioms, along with Anne's consistent refusal to accept them, highlights Anne's independent intelligence.
In Chapter 15, Anne's schoolteacher publicly shames her, misspells her name, and makes her sit with Gilbert Blythe (the boy who pulled her hair). Shortly afterward, Anne tells Diana that a metaphorical "iron has entered her soul":
“I shall never forgive Gilbert Blythe,” said Anne firmly. “And Mr. Phillips spelled my name without an e, too. The iron has entered into my soul, Diana.”
This vaguely biblical metaphor encapsulates her despair. It probably derives from a Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible story of Joseph's enslavement in Egypt; being literally placed in "irons," in this metaphorical expression, has an equally crushing spiritual and emotional effect on a person. The idiom "the iron entered into [one's] soul" captures the despair and indignity of being stuck in an unjust situation.
Anne's use of this phrase is characteristically dramatic, but in the context of the story, her emotions make perfect sense. She is only 11 years old at this point, and a day full of hair-pulling and public ridicule rightly upset her. Anne feels that permanent emotional damage was done by her teacher and Gilbert Blythe, hence the iron entering her soul. Gilbert's teasing, as well as rude comments from Rachel Lynde, cruelly remind Anne that she remains an outsider in Green Gables.
