# Enter Prince Charming explained — Anne of the Island

> Chapter companion for Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery.

## What happens

Anne, feeling restless and soul-weary, decides to walk in the park on a gray November afternoon despite Aunt Jamesina's advice to take an umbrella. A sudden rainstorm turns her umbrella inside out, and she is rescued by a handsome, dark-eyed stranger who offers her the shelter of his umbrella. They wait out the rain together in a pavilion, and Anne learns his name is Royal Gardner, a former Redmond student who has returned from Europe. He walks her home, asks permission to call, and later sends her a dozen roses. Anne, deeply stirred, wonders if the real Prince Charming has finally arrived.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Marriage

Anne's romantic encounter with Roy Gardner, who seems to be the 'Prince Charming' of her dreams, introduces a new possibility for love.

### Self-Discovery

Anne reflects on her feelings of restlessness and soul-fog, seeking clarity and a sense of identity as she navigates her third year at Redmond.

## Character check-ins

### Anne Shirley

Anne feels restless and soul-weary, seeks solitude in the park, and meets Royal Gardner in a romantic rainstorm encounter.

### Aunt Jamesina

Aunt Jamesina advises Anne to go to the park for fresh air and warns her to take an umbrella due to her rheumatism.

### Roy Gardner

Roy Gardner, a handsome and distinguished former Redmond student, rescues Anne in the rain and sends her roses afterward.

### Philippa Gordon

Phil teases Anne about the roses from Roy Gardner and reveals she knows of the wealthy Gardner family.

### Gilbert Blythe

Gilbert visits Patty's Place on Friday evenings, is in good spirits, and treats Anne with polite courtesy, but the old camaraderie is gone.

### Stella Maynard

Stella scolds Phil for flirting with Jonas Blake, warning she might break his heart.

## Key lines

> If the real Prince Charming was never to come she would none of a substitute.

Anne resolved that she would rather remain single than settle for a man who did not match her ideal.

_Anne's determination to wait for true love is immediately tested by the arrival of Roy Gardner._

> Tall and handsome and distinguished-looking—dark, melancholy, inscrutable eyes—melting, musical, sympathetic voice—yes, the very hero of her dreams stood before her in the flesh.

Roy Gardner's appearance perfectly matched Anne's romantic ideal of a Prince Charming.

_Anne's first impression of Roy is intensely romantic and idealized._

> Had the real Prince come at last? Recalling those glorious dark eyes which had gazed so deeply into her own, Anne was very strongly inclined to think he had.

Anne lay awake wondering if Roy Gardner was the true love she had been waiting for.

_The chapter ends with Anne hopeful that Roy is her destined Prince Charming._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/anne_of_the_island_se/chapters/xxv-enter-prince-charming
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/anne_of_the_island_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/anne_of_the_island_se/chapters