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Situational Irony
Chapter 1: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is Surprised
Explanation and Analysis:
The style of Anne of Green Gables is typical of late Victorian literature in several ways. For instance, it exemplifies realism as long, flowing sentences describe characters in great detail. In Chapter 1, the narrator describes Marilla's every feature:
Marilla was a tall, thin woman, with angles and without curves; her dark hair showed some gray streaks and was always twisted up in a hard little knot behind with two wire hairpins stuck aggressively through it. She looked like a woman of narrow experience and rigid conscience, which she was; but there was a saving something about her mouth which, if it had been ever so slightly developed, might have been considered indicative of a sense of humor.
Characters' features often reflect their personal characteristics; here, Marilla's "thin[ness]" and "angles" perfectly match her high-strung personality and foreshadow her strictness with Anne. Her narrow frame also exemplifies her narrow mind; she remains resolute and uncritical in her religious devotion and refuses to admit the fact that she was ever bored in church (as Anne boldly admits). The "saving something about her mouth" suggests that her character is "saved" from strict narrow-mindedness by a hidden warmer nature, and that she might later be friendly and affectionate toward Anne.
Detailed descriptions provide the reader with a realistic view of each character. The slightly romantic match between physical and personal qualities enhances the reader's ability to visualize interactions among characters. Another example of this is Anne's fiery red hair—which, much like her precocious personality, makes it difficult for her to fit in. In one of the most famous scenes, Gilbert Blythe pulls her hair and says "Carrots! Carrots!" Anne is deeply embarrassed to be singled out, and her red hair symbolizes how strange and different she feels from her classmates.
Another characteristic of Victorian literature is the inclusion of snappy moral sayings. The most prominent example is the saying that "children should be seen and not heard." Anne obviously defies this notion with her fanciful imagination and precocious speeches. She thinks that the world "wouldn’t be half so interesting if we knew all about everything." Anne's uniqueness challenges Victorian etiquette and keeps the reader humorously engaged without deviating too much from the style of the time.
Related Themes:
