In the first few chapters of Anne of Green Gables, visual imagery evokes the awe and wonder of 11-year-old Anne as she gets acquainted with her new home. In Chapter 2, the narrator describes Matthew and Anne's drive home to Green Gables:
[The sunset's] beauty seemed to strike the child dumb. She leaned back in the buggy, her thin hands clasped before her, her face lifted rapturously to the white splendor above [...] Still with rapt face she gazed afar into the sunset west, with eyes that saw visions trooping splendidly across that glowing background. Through Newbridge, a bustling little village where dogs barked at them and small boys hooted and curious faces peered from the windows, they drove, still in silence. When three more miles had dropped away behind them the child had not spoken. She could keep silence, it was evident, as energetically as she could talk.
The elements of visual imagery in this passage are "the white splendor above" and the "glowing" background. These details give the reader insight into Anne's sense of wonder. The precocious child is "struck dumb" by the natural beauty of her surroundings, and her usual talkativeness subsides into silence as she observes the sunset. She even seems to see "visions trooping splendidly" across the sky.
No matter how beautiful a scene might be, Anne always enhances it with her imagination. Her habit of reading books as an orphan cultivated her curiosity and sense of life's romantic qualities. Whenever the narrative shifts to explore Anne's perspective, the reader gets an idea of her capacity for gratitude and wonder. Visual imagery creates a detailed picture of Anne's observations and helps ground the reader in the story's reality. This in turn delineates Anne's fanciful imaginings and the actual beauty of Avonlea's landscape. Given how nice it is, she no longer has to rely entirely on her imagination to make life bearable. But she cannot help but embellish reality.
Visual imagery elucidates Anne's emotional reactions to conflict and makes her a more sympathetic character. In Chapter 9, when Rachel Lynde visits Green Gables, she greets Anne with a command to come closer for inspection:
Anne “came there,” but not exactly as Mrs. Rachel expected. With one bound she crossed the kitchen floor and stood before Mrs. Rachel, her face scarlet with anger, her lips quivering, and her whole slender form trembling from head to foot.
Moments prior, Rachel harshly criticized Anne, calling her "skinny and homely" and telling her the Cuthberts "didn't pick [her] for [her] looks." Anne responds with righteous indignation. She loses her temper, crying out "I hate you!" and heaping insults upon Rachel in return. Visual imagery enhances the reader's experience of this scene. Anne's face is "scarlet with anger" and her "slender form [was] trembling from head to foot." Active verbs like "bound," as well as the descriptors like "quivering" and "trembling," convey the energy behind her anger.
By conveying Anne's emotions in vivid detail, the narrator encourages the reader's sympathy. Her anger is not ridiculous but righteous. She knows that she does not deserve to be criticized for her appearance. However, it is also important to note that despite Anne's self-defense, she remains deeply dissatisfied with her looks. Her bright red hair makes her the target of many such comments and makes her feel like an outsider. The visual imagery of Anne's reaction reveals the impact of her conflicting feelings of self-righteousness and self-doubt. This contributes to her status as a complex, dynamic, and sympathetic character.
The changing seasons mirror Anne's personal development and find expression in vivid visual imagery. Chapter 29 begins with a detailed description of a special "September evening":
Anne was bringing the cows home from the back pasture by way of Lover’s Lane. It was a September evening and all the gaps and clearings in the woods were brimmed up with ruby sunset light. Here and there the lane was splashed with it, but for the most part it was already quite shadowy beneath the maples, and the spaces under the firs were filled with a clear violet dusk like airy wine.
The interplay of "ruby sunset light" and "shadowy" woods creates a romantic contrast between light and darkness. In this context, "romantic" refers to a depth of emotion, experience, and meaning. It also refers to an idealized vision of reality. This passage expresses an ideal view of nature that evokes an emotional response from Anne. Because she appreciates beauty so deeply, she tends to exaggerate the beauty of her surroundings, and she compares the evening to a "purple dream." The narrator confirms the beauty of fall, proving that Avonlea is worthy of Anne's high praise.
Another passage about seasonal change appears in Chapter 30, which begins with a description of "November twilight":
It was nearly dark, for the full November twilight had fallen around Green Gables, and the only light in the kitchen came from the dancing red flames in the stove.
Here, the only source of light comes from the "dancing red flames" in the Green Gables kitchen. This scene echoes the one from September because it describes the same time of day but differs in that it takes place during a different month. The September sunset seems triumphantly beautiful and evocative of recent summer evenings; by contrast, the November twilight alludes to the coming winter. The sun begins to set a bit earlier, and the inhabitants of Green Gables stick closer to home for warmth and safety. In both scenes, the visual imagery of Avonlea's geography and Green Gables's charm reflects Anne's fondness for her new home, and the emphasis on seasonal change toward the novel's end marks the personal changes and choices that Anne will face in the novel's final pages.
The changing seasons mirror Anne's personal development and find expression in vivid visual imagery. Chapter 29 begins with a detailed description of a special "September evening":
Anne was bringing the cows home from the back pasture by way of Lover’s Lane. It was a September evening and all the gaps and clearings in the woods were brimmed up with ruby sunset light. Here and there the lane was splashed with it, but for the most part it was already quite shadowy beneath the maples, and the spaces under the firs were filled with a clear violet dusk like airy wine.
The interplay of "ruby sunset light" and "shadowy" woods creates a romantic contrast between light and darkness. In this context, "romantic" refers to a depth of emotion, experience, and meaning. It also refers to an idealized vision of reality. This passage expresses an ideal view of nature that evokes an emotional response from Anne. Because she appreciates beauty so deeply, she tends to exaggerate the beauty of her surroundings, and she compares the evening to a "purple dream." The narrator confirms the beauty of fall, proving that Avonlea is worthy of Anne's high praise.
Another passage about seasonal change appears in Chapter 30, which begins with a description of "November twilight":
It was nearly dark, for the full November twilight had fallen around Green Gables, and the only light in the kitchen came from the dancing red flames in the stove.
Here, the only source of light comes from the "dancing red flames" in the Green Gables kitchen. This scene echoes the one from September because it describes the same time of day but differs in that it takes place during a different month. The September sunset seems triumphantly beautiful and evocative of recent summer evenings; by contrast, the November twilight alludes to the coming winter. The sun begins to set a bit earlier, and the inhabitants of Green Gables stick closer to home for warmth and safety. In both scenes, the visual imagery of Avonlea's geography and Green Gables's charm reflects Anne's fondness for her new home, and the emphasis on seasonal change toward the novel's end marks the personal changes and choices that Anne will face in the novel's final pages.
