Previous
Chapter 23: Anne Comes to Grief in an Affair of Honor
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Anne of Green Gables, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Home and Family
Beauty and Imagination
Friendship
Mishaps, Milestones, and Growing Up
Boys and Romance
God, Prayer, and Church
Summary
Analysis
In October, Anne returns to school and happily rejoins Diana at their shared desk. Miss Stacy is a young woman with a knack for connecting with her students and encouraging them; Anne blossoms especially. She tells Marilla and Matthew that she can just feel that Miss Stacy is calling her “Anne with an E.” Miss Stacy has also told Anne that she writes the best compositions in class, and she even makes geometry easier to grasp.
If Anne blossomed even under a mean and uninterested teacher like Mr. Phillips who acted unjustly towards her, she thrives all the more under Miss Stacy, who genuinely understands her and encourages her in her strengths and helps her in her weaknesses.
Themes
In November, Miss Stacy and her students begin planning a fundraising concert to be held on Christmas night, with the goal of purchasing a flag for the schoolhouse. Marilla finds it all foolish and needlessly distracting, but Anne is committed to the belief that patriotism and fun go together. She will participate in two dialogues, a tableau, and will give two recitations. Marilla quickly tires of hearing Anne talk about nothing but the recital, but Matthew warmly encourages her. He’s thankful that Marilla is in charge of Anne’s upbringing, leaving him free to “spoil” her to his heart’s content. His encouragement of Anne is just as beneficial as discipline.
The concert is another occasion on which Marilla’s and Matthew’s approaches to raising Anne contrast. Marilla has a low tolerance for anything she considers to be foolish or time-wasting, whereas Matthew looks for any chance to encourage Anne in the areas where she’s enthusiastic and gifted. Montgomery suggests that both methods are effective in Anne’s case—with Matthew often becoming useful where Marilla is lacking.
Themes
