Anne of Avonlea · Chapter
The Pointing of Duty explained
Anne and Gilbert discuss their teaching experiences, including Anne's struggles with Anthony Pye and her success with Paul Irving.
What happens
Anne and Gilbert discuss their teaching experiences, including Anne's struggles with Anthony Pye and her success with Paul Irving. They share their future aspirations—Gilbert to become a doctor, Anne to bring beauty into the world. Marilla returns from visiting the dying Mary Keith and reluctantly decides to take in the Keith twins, Davy and Dora, out of a sense of duty.
Themes in this chapter
Education and Influence
Anne and Gilbert discuss their teaching methods, challenges with students like Anthony Pye, and the impact of a teacher's patience and kindness.
Duty and Responsibility
Marilla feels compelled to take in the Keith twins out of duty, despite her reluctance, and Anne supports this by emphasizing moral obligation.
Imagination and Idealism
Anne dreams of adding beauty to life, while Gilbert aspires to fight disease and ignorance, reflecting their idealistic visions for the future.
Characters to notice
- Anne Shirley
Discusses teaching challenges and joys with Gilbert, shares her dream of adding beauty to life, and persuades Marilla to take the Keith twins.
- Gilbert Blythe
Visits Anne, talks about his teaching at White Sands, and reveals his ambition to become a doctor to fight disease and ignorance.
- Marilla Cuthbert
Returns from visiting Mary Keith, worried about the fate of the twins, and reluctantly agrees to take them in despite her reservations.
- Anthony Pye
Mentioned as a difficult student who holds Anne in contempt and obeys with scorn, challenging her teaching methods.
- Paul Irving
Praised by Anne as a darling and a genius, making up for the difficulties with other students.
- Davy Keith
One of the Keith twins; Marilla describes him as a 'limb' and worries about his mischievous nature.
Key passages
“Fancies are like shadows … you can’t cage them, they’re such wayward, dancing things.”
Imaginations are elusive and cannot be contained or forced into rigid forms.
Anne expresses the difficulty of capturing her thoughts in writing, as advised by Professor Hamilton.
“I want to do my share of honest, real work in the world, Anne … add a little to the sum of human knowledge that all the good men have been accumulating since it began.”
Gilbert desires to contribute meaningfully to the world by advancing human knowledge and fighting disease.
Gilbert shares his motivation for becoming a doctor, emphasizing gratitude and obligation to future generations.
“I’d like to add some beauty to life … I’d love to make them have a pleasanter time because of me … to have some little joy or happy thought that would never have existed if I hadn’t been born.”
Anne wishes to bring happiness and beauty into others' lives, leaving a positive impact through simple joys.
Anne articulates her personal ambition, contrasting with Gilbert's more practical goal.