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Chapter 35: The Winter at Queen’s
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
Anne and Jane walk down the street together on the day the exam results are supposed to be posted; Anne is pale and anxious. Anne has little hope of winning the Avery scholarship; she’s so nervous that she makes Jane promise to look up her results while she hides in the girls’ dressing room. But as they approach Queen’s, they see Gilbert being hoisted on his friends’ shoulders while they shout, “Hurrah for Blythe, Medallist!” No sooner does Anne's disappointment sink in than she hears, “Three cheers for Miss Shirley, winner of the Avery!” She’s soon surrounded by a jubilant group of congratulating friends.
Anne doesn’t achieve her goal of beating Gilbert for the Queen’s medal, but she achieves an arguably better one—a college scholarship, surpassing the goals and dreams she’d initially brought with her to Queen’s. Unlike most girls of the time, Anne has doors open to her even beyond a teaching career—a full college degree.
Themes
Marilla and Matthew attend Commencement to see Anne honored and hear her read her prizewinning essay. Matthew asks Marilla, “Reckon you’re glad we kept her?” Marilla tells her brother to stop rubbing it in. That night, Anne happily breathes in the familiar sights, smells, and atmosphere of Green Gables. She and Diana get reacquainted, and Diana teases Anne about replacing her with her new Queen’s friends. Anne pelts Diana with flowers and assures her that Diana is still her dearest friend.
For Matthew and Marilla, keeping Anne has become the most important choice of their lives—she has brought them tremendous love, joy, and pride. The value of having her around has long ceased to be a matter of her usefulness to the household. Back home, it seems like Green Gables is the same place it’s always been and that life this summer promises to go on much as before.
Themes
Anne is going to enjoy three months of vacation before starting college at Redmond in September. Jane, Ruby, and Gilbert are going to be schoolteachers. Gilbert can’t afford additional college, so he’ll likely teach at Avonlea school in order to earn a salary. Anne hears a pang at this news—what will college be like without a rival to motivate her?
Anne realizes that things are going to change more than she’d realized—Gilbert’s presence as a valued rival, something she’s taken for granted for years now, will soon be gone. She wonders if she’ll be able to remain motivated without him.
Themes
The next morning at breakfast, Matthew looks a bit gray. Marilla tells Anne that Matthew has had bad spells with his heart but refuses to slow down his work. Anne thinks Marilla looks tired, too, and promises to do the chores this summer so Marilla can rest. Marilla says it’s a problem with her eyes; she’ll have to see the doctor about them soon. Marilla also mentions a rumor about the Abbey Bank, where all the Cuthberts’ money is stored. Mr. Abbey was their father’s good friend, but the bank has been shakier under the younger generation. After Marilla heard that, she wanted Matthew to withdraw all their money from it, but someone reassured him that all was well.
Though at first it looked as if nothing had changed at Green Gables, Anne realizes that’s not quite true. Both Matthew and Marilla have aged and they struggle to keep up with things at Green Gables as they used to. The news of instability at the bank is likewise ominous.
Themes
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Anne has a wonderful, carefree day revisiting all her favorite spots around Green Gables. That evening, as she and Matthew bring the cows in, Anne tells him he’s working too hard. Anne says if only she’d been the boy they originally sent for, then she could be of much more help to Matthew. Matthew says he’d rather have Anne than a dozen boys. After all, it wasn’t a boy who won the Avery scholarship; it was his girl. Anne treasures his words, and she always remembers that happy day.
Despite the obvious changes, Anne treasures her reunion with Green Gables. Even after all these years, she does hold onto a bit of guilt about the fact that she couldn’t be what Matthew and Marilla originally sought in an adopted child. Yet Matthew reassures her that she is what they really wanted and needed all along.
Themes
