Anne of the Island · Chapter
The Round of Life explained
Anne returns to Avonlea after her first year at Redmond, only to find that time has brought changes: old faces are missing from the church pews, Billy Andrews is married, and Ruby Gillis is dying of consumption though she refuses to admit i
What happens
Anne returns to Avonlea after her first year at Redmond, only to find that time has brought changes: old faces are missing from the church pews, Billy Andrews is married, and Ruby Gillis is dying of consumption though she refuses to admit it. Anne visits Ruby, who chatters about flirtations and new dresses, but behind her bright eyes Anne sees the shadow of mortality. The chapter also touches on Anne's ambition to write a story and the small, poignant shifts in the round of daily life.
Themes in this chapter
Change and Loss
The chapter is steeped in the awareness of change: old faces missing from church, Billy Andrews married, and most poignantly, Ruby Gillis's unrecognized decline. Anne and Diana walk through a beautiful spring evening while contemplating the fragility of life.
Mortality and the Meaning of Life
Ruby Gillis's galloping consumption forces Anne to confront the reality of death. Ruby's frantic gaiety and denial contrast with the quiet acceptance of the natural world, prompting reflections on what is truly important.
Characters to notice
- Anne Shirley
Returns to Avonlea with the Thorburn Scholarship; is struck by the changes in the community and especially by Ruby Gillis's illness; confides in Diana her desire to write a story.
- Ruby Gillis
Dying of consumption but insists she is perfectly well; entertains callers with laughter and talk of beaux; shows Anne her new dresses and asks her to come again alone.
- Diana Barry
Accompanies Anne to visit Ruby; shares Anne's sorrow over Ruby's condition; discusses Anne's writing ambitions.
- Mrs. Rachel Lynde
Bluntly informs Anne that Ruby is dying of galloping consumption; comments on Jane Andrews's decision to go West.
- Aunt Atossa
Visited by Anne and Diana at Elisha Wright's; sour and disagreeable, she makes cutting remarks about Anne and Diana's hands and manners.
Key passages
“Ruby Gillis is dying of galloping consumption. Everybody knows it except herself and her family.”
Mrs. Lynde bluntly tells Anne that Ruby is dying of tuberculosis, though Ruby and her family refuse to acknowledge it.
This blunt revelation shocks Anne and sets the emotional tone for the chapter.
“It's so awful to hear Ruby rattling on as she does, and pretending there is nothing the matter with her, even when she can hardly speak for coughing. She's fighting so hard for her life, and yet she hasn't any chance at all, they say.”
Diana confides to Anne how painful it is to listen to Ruby's cheerful chatter while knowing she is dying.
Diana expresses the shared grief and helplessness of watching a friend deny her own mortality.
“If we could sail to it in the moonshine boat Paul wrote of in his old composition—you remember?—how nice it would be. Do you think we could find all our yesterdays there, Diana—all our old springs and blossoms?”
Anne wistfully imagines sailing into the sunset to recover lost times and past joys.
Anne's poetic reverie underscores the theme of loss and the desire to hold onto what is slipping away.