Anne of the Island · Chapter
Deals with Weddings explained
Anne returns to Green Gables feeling a sense of anticlimax and loss after her breakup with Roy Gardner and the end of her college days.
What happens
Anne returns to Green Gables feeling a sense of anticlimax and loss after her breakup with Roy Gardner and the end of her college days. She learns of Jane Andrews's engagement to a wealthy man, visits Diana and her new baby, and receives a letter from Philippa Gordon about her engagement to Jonas Blake. Anne struggles with loneliness and the feeling that she belongs only in the past.
Themes in this chapter
Change and Loss
Anne feels the loss of her college life, the Snow Queen tree, and her old friendship with Diana as she faces a changed world.
Love and Marriage
Multiple engagements and marriages are discussed: Jane Andrews, Philippa Gordon, and Diana's new motherhood, contrasting with Anne's broken engagement.
Home and Belonging
Anne returns to Green Gables but feels out of place, struggling with a sense of belonging only in the past.
Characters to notice
- Anne Shirley
Feels anticlimax and loneliness after returning to Green Gables; reflects on her broken engagement with Roy and her changing relationships.
- Diana Barry
Now a mother to baby Fred; Anne visits her and feels a sense of distance from her old friend.
- Philippa Gordon
Writes to Anne about her engagement to Jonas Blake and her happiness.
- Jane Andrews
Has returned from the West and is engaged to a wealthy man, as reported by Mrs. Lynde.
- Marilla Cuthbert
Greets Anne at Green Gables and discusses local news.
- Mrs. Rachel Lynde
Shares Avonlea gossip, including news about Jane Andrews's engagement and Simon Fletcher's broken leg.
Key passages
“Anne felt that life partook of the nature of an anticlimax during the first few weeks after her return to Green Gables.”
Anne felt that life was disappointing and lacked excitement after she came back home.
Captures Anne's emotional state after college and her breakup.
“I’m awfully sorry you won’t marry Roy. I did want you for a sister. But you are quite right. He would bore you to death.”
Dorothy says she's sorry Anne won't marry Roy, but agrees he would have been boring.
Dorothy's candid opinion about her brother Roy.
“Isn’t he perfectly beautiful?”
Diana asks if her newborn baby isn't beautiful.
Diana's pride in her new son, little Fred.