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1-Page Summary of Anne of Green Gables
Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert are siblings who live on their farm in Avonlea, Canada. Matthew is sixty years old and needs help with the work around the farm since he can no longer do it alone. The town gossip, Mrs. Rachel Lynde, thinks that they’re unfit to adopt a boy because of their age.
Matthew, who is terrified of women and has never had a girlfriend, arrives at the train station. He finds an orphan girl instead of the boy he was expecting to pick up. The orphanage sent Anne Shirley by mistake because she’s eleven years old instead of seven as requested. Matthew likes her talkativeness and spirit so much that he agrees to let her stay with him for a trial period.
Anne is a happy and talkative girl despite her poor upbringing. She has an imagination that most kids do not have and she’s optimistic. Although she doesn’t fit the mold of what society considers to be proper, Anne tries hard to follow Marilla’s rules, but makes many mistakes along the way.
Anne never had real friends before living at Green Gables, so she was forced to invent imaginary playmates. In Avonlea, she meets Diana Barry, a neighbor who quickly becomes her bosom friend. One afternoon Anne invites Diana to tea and accidentally gives her red currant wine instead of nonalcoholic raspberry cordial. Diana returns home drunk, causing her mother to forbid the girls from speaking until Anne saves Diana’s sister from croup disease by giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
In school, Anne and Gilbert Blythe are rivals. They’re both smart students who compete with each other for grades. When they first meet, he teases her by calling her Carrots and pulling on her red braid. This infuriates Anne because she’s sensitive about the color of her hair, so she smashes a slate over his head.
As Anne grows up, she becomes more serious about her studies and gives up some of her childish romantic notions. She decides to apply for a scholarship so that she can attend Queen’s Academy (which is like Harvard). Her relationship with Gilbert Blythe changes from being rivals to becoming friends when they both go to the same school. When she gets accepted into Queen’s Academy, Matthew and Marilla are very proud of her.
Anne was thrilled to learn that her future would be bright. However, when she returned home, Matthew had a heart attack and died. Anne decided to stay at Green Gables so that she could take care of Marilla, who was going blind. Gilbert heard about this decision and gave up his post as the teacher at Avonlea school so that Anne could teach there and be closer to Marilla. After five years of rivalry, Gilbert and Anne became friends because they were neighbors again after all these years apart. Although Anne’s life narrowed considerably since it no longer included higher education or marriage prospects, she remained optimistic about her future instead of being sad about it like everyone else in Avonlea seemed to be doing whenever they talked about her situation with each other behind their backs (which happened often).
Chapters 1–4
Summary—Chapter 1: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is Surprised
A woman named Rachel Lynde lives in a small rural town in Prince Edward Island. She is known as the local busybody because of her nosy behavior and gossiping nature. One day, she notices that Matthew Cuthbert is leaving his house wearing his best suit. This activity is odd because he’s a recluse who rarely leaves his home or interacts with others. Therefore, Mrs. Lynde goes to the Cuthbert household to find out why he was going out on such an important day and what happened after that visit.
