Anger In Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne Of Green Gables

Seeing Red

Anger in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables

Often seen as a negative emotion and something to be repressed, anger is associated with improper behaviour and even sinfulness. However, in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables anger plays a much more important role. Following the novel’s theme of change, anger acts as a catalyst for many of the changes that affect Anne’s character and personal development. Though L.M. Montgomery maintains that as a negative and improper emotion anger can lead to irrational behaviour and must be controlled, she also shows how it leads to a positive and lasting change in Anne.

In Avonlea, anger is seen as a negative and improper emotion that newcomer Anne must learn to control. In Chapter

9 “Mrs. Rachel Lynde is Properly Horrified” it is two weeks after Anne’s arrival in Avonlea when she meets Mrs. Rachael Lynde. Described as someone who: “… prided herself on always speaking her mind” (Ch. 1 para. 25), Mrs. Lynde is the village busy body and most outspoken resident. When she meets Anne, she appraises her harshly telling Anne: “Well they didn’t pick you for your looks…” (Ch. 9, para. 15). This is followed by an assessment of Anne’s more defining qualities. Anne, who is self-conscious of her freckles, skinniness, and red hair is angered by Mrs. Lynde’s words: “… her face scarlet with anger, her lips quivering, and her whole slender form trembling from head to foot” (Ch. 9, para. 16). And further: “… eyes blazing, hands clenched, passionate indignation exhaling from her like an atmosphere” (Ch. 9, para. 19). For Anne, anger is almost tangible and has had such a profound effect on her that it causes her entire body to react. Her temper, at this point, is uncontrolled. Marilla’s response to this is to send Anne to her room and, unlike the whipping that Mrs. Lynde suggests, for Anne to apologize for her outburst. By having Anne apologize to Mrs. Lynde directly, Anne has to face her mistake directly and admit the impropriety of her behaviour. Further, Marilla shows Anne how improper anger is by telling her: “Mrs. Lynde will have a nice story to tell about you everywhere -- and she’ll tell it too. It was a dreadful thing for you to lose your temper like that Anne” (Ch. 9, para. 43). By telling Anne that Mrs. Lynde will share the story of Anne’s anger with everyone and noting that it is “dreadful” for her to lose her temper, Marilla is reinforcing the idea of anger being improper. This is also true in Chapter 15 “A Tempest in the School Teapot” when Anne shows her anger in school upon first meeting Gilbert Blythe. Unaccustomed to usual childish teasing, Anne reacts in anger to Gilbert pulling her hair and saying: “Carrots! Carrots!” (Ch. 15, para. 35). Anne, who is still learning proper behaviour in Avonlea society, then breaks her slate over his head. The reaction of the other children shows how this behaviour is both out of the ordinary and improper:
Everyone said “Oh” in horrified delight. Diana gasped. Ruby Gillis, who was inclined to be hysterical, began to cry. Tommy Sloane let his team of crickets escape him altogether while he stared open-mouthed at the tableau. (Ch. 15, para. 45)
Additionally, when Gilbert attempts to take the blame for Anne’s actions: “Mr. Philips paid no heed to Gilbert” (Ch. 15 para. 49). This tells us that the Gilbert’s teasing is normal, childish behaviour. It also shows that Anne’s anger is not acceptable as it is Anne who is punished:
Mr. Phillips took a chalk crayon and wrote on the blackboard above her head. "Ann Shirley has a very bad temper. Ann Shirley must learn to control her temper. (Ch. 15, para. 47)
By singling out Anne and setting her apart from the other students, Mr. Phillips uses humiliation and segregation to show her that anger and her behaviour are not welcome in his classroom. The punishments Anne receives as a result of her anger are meant to teach her that in Avonlea anger is improper and must be controlled. This lesson is helped by Anne realizing that anger causes people to both think and behave irrationally.
Anger leads to irrational behaviour, both for the person who is angered and the one to whom the anger is directed.

In Chapter 14 “Anne’s Confession”, both Marilla and Anne show how anger can cause irrational behaviour. Marilla, realizing her beloved brooch has gone missing, asks Anne if she has taken it. Anne admits to having taken it but assures Marilla that she returned it. But in her anger Marilla refuses to believe her: “You didn’t put it back … You’ve taken it out or something, Anne” (Ch. 14, para. 6). Until this point, Marilla has never doubted Anne’s truthfulness. However with her anger over the missing brooch, Marilla is not thinking rationally. And when Anne reiterates exactly what she had done with the brooch, instead of believing her, Marilla is only assured of her falsehood: “… but Marilla took it as a display of defiance” (Ch. 14, para. 14). Marilla, who engages in a great deal of internal reflection, continues to ignore her own logical thinking: “And how wicked of the child to deny having taken it, when anybody could see she must have! With such and innocent face too!” (Ch. 14, para. 18). Anne to this point has shown many different character traits. She has a vivid imagination and a fiery temper, both of which have gotten her into trouble. However, even Marilla finds herself shocked at the idea of Anne being dishonest: “It’s a dreadful thing to think she tells falsehoods. It’s a far worse thing than her fit of temper” (Ch. 14, para. 19). This shows how anger has clouded Marilla’s judgement and has caused her to think and behave irrationally. Further to this is Anne’s response to Marilla’s anger. Anne, excited to be attending the Sunday School picnic, is sent to her room until she confesses. As she has already told Marilla the truth, that she only tried on the brooch and returned it to the dresser, Anne is determined to tell Marilla what she thinks Marilla wants to hear. So she creates a story where she took the brooch, wore it, and lost it. By tying

this story it to her vivid imagination, Anne believes that Marilla will accept it as truth and allow her to go to the picnic. When instead Marilla punishes her, Anne responds in confusion: “But you promised me I might! … That is why I confessed” (Ch. 14, para. 41). Anne, in response to Marilla’s anger, did not understand what was expected of her and reacted by lying. In spite of her wild imagination, Anne has always told the truth and telling this story is out of character for her. Additionally, Marilla’s anger prevents her from recognizing that Anne has fabricated her confession. In this way, the text is showing us how anger can affect how we rationalize a situation both when we are angry or when dealing with someone else’s anger. This incident, teaches Anne a valuable lesson, and helps her develop into young woman she becomes at the end of the novel.
Anger plays a role in Anne’s personal development and leads to positive changes in her. On several occasions, we see how Anne learns from her anger and the anger of others and how it changes her for the better. Two events come together to fuel Anne’s ambitions as a student and lead her to great success. Her anger at Gilbert which began Chapter 15 “A Tempest in the School Teapot” coupled with Mrs. Barry’s anger at Diana’s accidental intoxication in Chapter 16 “Diana is Invited to Tea with Tragic Results” lead to Anne embracing school with newfound interest.
… she got on very well with Mr. Phillips thenceforth. She flung herself into her studies heart and soul, determined not to be outdone in any class by Gilbert Blythe. (Ch. 17, para. 37)
Anne’s ambition, fueled by her five year feud with Gilbert, which began here and continues throughout the text, leads her to success in the Avonlea School as well as the Queen’s academy. Already an excellent student, Anne embraces her studies determined always to be ahead of Gilbert. Additionally, in Chapter 19 “A Concert a Catastrophe and a Confession” Anne finally learns the importance of owning up to her mistakes with a genuine, sincere confession. This occurs after she and Diana have angered Diana’s Aunt Josephine by jumping on her in her sleep. She tells Diana: “It was my fault and I’ve got to confess. I’ve had practice in confessing, fortunately” (Ch. 19, para. 74). Anne is correct in this, as she has confessed, albeit very over dramatically, to Mrs. Lynde, in Chapter 10 “Anne’s Apology”, and later less than honestly to Marilla in Chapter 15 “Anne’s Confession.” This time, however, Anne has learnt the rational way to respond to anger and how to use genuine sincerity to ease Aunt Josephine’s. The result is almost instantaneous: “Much of the snap had gone out of the old lady’s eyes by this time and was replaced by a twinkle of amused interest” (Ch. 19, para. 84). Additionally, Anne now uses empathy, instead of theatrics and lies, to aid in her apology: “I don’t know, but I can imagine … I’m sure it must have been very disturbing” (Ch. 19, para. 86). This is significant in that it shows how Anne’s character is changing, and that she is learning what is proper behaviour. These examples show anger has had a lasting and positive impact on her development into a young woman.
For Anne Shirley, in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Avonlea is a new and wondrous place. Avonlea changes Anne as much as she changes Avonlea. One of the catalysts of these changes is anger, both Anne’s and that of others. While Anne learns that anger is not only improper and something she must learn to control, she also realizes that it can cause her and others to think and behave irrationally. Anger, however, is also something from which Anne learns. And it is these lessons which lead to a positive and lasting change for Anne of Avonlea.