Anne of Green Gables: Chapter 10: Anne’s Apology Summary & Analysis

The next morning Marilla tells Matthew what happened, and he thinks it’s a good thing that Mrs. Rachel “got a calling down.” He tells Marilla not to be too hard on Anne. Marilla duly carries Anne’s meals up to the east gable, but Anne doesn’t seem to touch the food. That night, while Marilla is out tending to the cows, Matthew sneaks inside and slips upstairs to Anne’s room. He finds Anne sitting sadly by the window and gently asks her how she’s doing. Bravely, Anne says she is imagining in order to pass the time. Matthew encourages Anne to just apologize and get it over with—Marilla is stubborn, too, after all.

Anne says she could apologize to please Matthew. What’s more, she does feel a little sorry—her anger dissipated overnight, and she feels ashamed of herself. Matthew tells her it’s too lonely in the house without her. Anne agrees to apologize, and Matthew tells her not to tell Marilla that he talked to Anne. He flees to the pasture so his sister will never suspect him.

Anne calls to Marilla over the banister and says she’s ready to apologize to Mrs. Rachel. Marilla is relieved—she’d secretly been worrying about what to do if Anne remained stubborn. That evening, she and Anne walk to Mrs. Lynde’s. Though Anne starts out looking gloomy, her expression brightens as they walk. She tells Marilla she’s imagining what she’s going to say in her apology. Marilla begins to worry—this is supposed to be a punishment, after all.

When they reach Mrs. Lynde’s, Anne suddenly drops to her knees and extends her hands to the surprised lady. In a quivering voice, she says she cannot possibly express all her sorrow, she has disgraced Green Gables, and she deserves to be ostracized by respectable society. Mrs. Lynde was right in all she said. Anne begs her forgiveness—she wouldn’t want to withhold it from a poor orphan girl, would she? Though Anne’s tone is sincere, Marilla knows Anne is getting some enjoyment out of this.

Mrs. Lynde kindly urges Anne to get up. She forgives her and says she was too hard on Anne. Anyway, she once knew a girl with red hair whose color later darkened to a lovely auburn—maybe the same will happen to Anne. Anne is delighted—Mrs. Lynde has given her hope that will help her to endure her hair color.

Anne is dismissed to the garden while Marilla and Mrs. Rachel talk. Mrs. Rachel still thinks Anne is a strange child, but there’s something appealing about her, and she understands a little better why the Cuthberts kept her—she’ll probably turn out well in the end. Later, as Marilla and Anne walk home, Marilla refrains from laughing at the drama of Anne’s apology and warns her to control her temper better in the future. She also says Anne shouldn’t think about her looks so much. Anne says that she loves beautiful things and hates to be ugly; she’s not convinced of Marilla’s claim that “handsome is as handsome does.”

As they approach Green Gables in the starry, breezy evening, Anne suddenly takes Marilla’s hand and says that Green Gables is the first place that’s ever felt like home. She could even pray with full sincerity right now. Marilla feels a sudden warmth, but she subdues it by telling Anne that if she’s always good, then she’ll always be happy and find it easy to say her prayers. Anne objects that saying one’s prayers isn’t the same as praying. But for now she’d rather imagine that she’s the wind blowing over Green Gables—she’d rather not talk anymore. Marilla breathes a sigh of relief.