Anne of Green Gables: Difference between revisions

* [[Betty and Veronica]]: Gilbert Blythe and Roy Gardner, with Anne as the Archie.

* [[Beware the Quiet Ones]] and [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: As noted, Walter is usually a pacifist. He'd rather write poetry. Insult him about this, that's fine, sticks and stones. Insult his female friends...well, that's worse, but he'll let it go. Insult his ''mother''... and you've gone too far. As noted above there's a scene in ''Rainbow Valley'' in which Walter, the laughing-stock of the town boys, bloodies their ringleader's nose after he says Walter's mother writes lies.

* [[Blithe Spirit]]: Anne in every single book, which makes her marital name very [[Meaningful Name|meaningful]], which is lampshaded on a few occasions.

** One of her twin daughters, Nan, is also portrayed as being this way. It's mentioned in ''Rainbow Valley'' that she is "Blythe by name and blithe by nature".

* [[Bumbling Dad]] / [[Parental Obliviousness]]: Reverend Meredith is a very nice man, and a wonderful minister, but has little or no idea what his own children are up to. Matthew also is at first befuddled by Marilla's tactics for raising Anne, and often is glad that she's the one who has to deal with the various scrapes and antics.

* [[The Cameo]]: Anne Shirley, in ''Chronicles of Avonlea'' and ''Further Chronicles of Avonlea''. She will appear exactly once in every story, either in person or as a piece of relayed gossip.

* [[Christmas Cake]]

* [[Close-Knit Community]]: Avonlea, and all the other places where she lives.

* [[Clueless Chick Magnet]]: Oddly, gender flipped with Anne. She idealizes romance and love so much she can't see that there are about five men waiting in line to marry her.

* [[The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes]]: Gilbert, being a doctor, is very solicitous about Anne's health, explicitly wishing to refute the proverb "Cobblers' wives go barefoot and doctors' wives die young."

* [[Coming of Age Story]]: ''Anne of Green Gables'' and ''Rilla of Ingleside''

* [[The Confidant]]: Diana Barry knows loads of ''juicy'' secrets about Anne -- including the truth behind Anne's shaved head post-botched dye job (there's a bit of deeper subtext here, as dyeing one's hair was seen as borderline immoral at this point). The author makes it clear that Diana, dutiful best friend that she is, never breathes a word about any of this.

* [[Cosplay]]: [[Downplayed Trope|Downplayed]] when Charlotte E. Morgan visits. Anne and Diana don't cosplay as particular characters, but instead dress in white muslin which her heroines are known to wear.

* [[Daddy's Girl]]: Anne almost instantly develops a special relationship with Matthew, which leads directly to his convincing Marilla to keep the girl.

* [[Dead Guy, Junior]]: Most of Anne's kids are named after dead people or family/friends. Ditto Leslie's kids, and most of the other Islanders'. This was a fairly standard naming convention in that place & time.

* [[Dead Little Sister|Dead Little Brother]]: Leslie's little brother Kenneth, whose death is the first step toward [[Break the Cutie|breaking]] her heart. Her [[Dead Guy, Junior|son]] is named after him.

* [[Dead Person Impersonation]]: It turns out that Leslie's husband {{spoiler|actually is dead, and on the way to tell her the news, his [[Uncanny Family Resemblance]] cousin got a [[Tap on the Head]] and ended up with [[Identity Amnesia]]. Everyone presumed that he was the dead husband, and only an operation lets them all know this was the wrong assumption.}}

* [[Death by Childbirth]]: Anne comes very close to it, twice. Once with her oldest child {{spoiler|Joy, who passed away soon after}}, and with her sixth child and youngest son, Shirley.

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Leslie, whose pride and shame at her situation make her aloof until Anne's own tragedy creates a common bond between them.

* [[Dunce Cap]]: Though minus the actual dunce cap, as punishment for smashing her slate over Gilbert's head Anne is made to stand in front of the class with "Ann Shirley has a very bad temper. Ann Shirley must learn to control her temper." written behind her on the blackboard.

* [[Epistolary Novel]]: Quite large portions of ''Anne of Windy Poplars/Willows'' are narrated via Anne's letters to Gilbert.

* [[Everyone Can See It]]: Anne/Gilbert, ''so much''. To the point that Anne gets called out on it at least twice in ''Anne of the Island''. Also [[Lampshaded]] in [[The Musical]] ''Anne & Gilbert'' with the song "Gilbert Loves Anne of Green Gables" where the Chorus sings about the two and how Anne will gradually understand that Gilbert loves her and return his love.

* [[Fiery Redhead]]: Need I explain?

* [[First Love]]: Anne Shirley is Gilbert Blythe's from that moment she cracks a slate over his head, and he faithfully waits for years for her even to acknowledge him as a friend.

* [[Franchise Zombie]]: Could be said to apply to Montgomery, who continued to write novels and stories set in Anne Shirley's universe up to the day she died. It ''definitely'' applies to the Kevin Sullivan TV franchise, which to date has included four made-for-TV movies-cum-miniseries, an animated TV show, an animated film, and a long-running TV series set in Avonlea.

* [[Free-Range Children]]: The Blythe and Meredith children.

* [[Friendly War]]: Anne and Gilbert's academic rivalry, at least on Gilbert's side. To Anne, after her 'humiliation' at Gilbert's hands, it's almost a matter of life and death.

* [[From the Mouths of Babes]]: A cute one happens in ''Anne of Ingleside''. Anne comes back from a trip to Avonlea to find the two china dogs that grace the hearth, Gog and Magog, are gone. Susan explains that she removed them from sight after an embarrassing incident in which Walter introduced them to a guest as "God" and "My God".

* [[Full-Name Basis]]: Anne and a number of other characters in ''Windy Poplars'' find it impossible to refer to Rebecca Dew by anything but her full name.

* [[Genki Girl]]: Anne is the epitome of this trope. She's described as increasingly and significantly quieter and calmer growing up, however.

** On meeting Anne, Diana pronounces her a "queer girl" (which doesn't discourage gay fans who see their relationship as laden with homoerotic subtext).

** In a similar way, L. M. Montgomery probably didn't mean to inspire chuckles when she named the domineering clan of ''Windy Poplars'' the 'Pringles.'

* [[Heartwarming Orphan]]: Anne, obviously.

* [[Heel Face Turn]]: Subverted in "The Road to Yesterday" of ''The Blythes Are Quoted''. It turns out that the person believed to be braggart and [[The Bully|bully]] Dick is actually [[Strong Family Resemblance|his second cousin who looks just like him]], [[Nice Guy]] Jerry Thornton.

* [[Held Gaze]]:

** Gilbert and Anne share a Passionate Look when the two reconnect in a gazebo in the second TV miniseries. After having held each other's gaze at least ''twice'' in the first miniseries, during important tests at school.

* [[Just Friends]]: Anne and Gilbert have this type of relationship after they grow beyond the one-sided [[Slap Slap Kiss]] of their younger days, the two tropes succeeding each other in Anne and Gilbert's love story.

* [[Keep the Home Fires Burning]]: It drives the plot behind ''Rilla of Ingleside''.

* [[Kill the Cutie]]: {{spoiler|Walter, who was the kind-hearted poet of the Blythe children, is killed in World War One.}}

* [[Kindhearted Cat Lover]]: Captain Jim has a big orange cat called the First Mate that he rescued after it had been abandoned and starved as a kitten. He makes Anne promise to give the cat "a bite and a corner" after he dies.

* [[Ladykiller in Love]]: Kenneth Ford, apparently.

** Jem and Faith, too, who are engaged before he leaves for World War I.

* [[Longing Look]]: Gilbert does this a ''lot'' in Kevin Sullivan's ''Anne of Green Gables'' (1985). One scene in particular has Anne and Diana wistfully gazing at each other, and then Gilbert in the background casts a [[Longing Look]] in Anne's direction. Naturally, she doesn't notice.

* [[Love At First Punch]]: Gilbert confesses to Anne that he first fell in love with her after she had cracked the slate over his head.

* [[Love Hurts]]: Poor Gilbert. In some cases, this is literal for him.

* [[Maiden Aunt]]: Marilla, despite not being Anne's aunt, certainly acts like one. There is also Aunt Josephine Barry, but she is more of a subversion.

* [[Mouthy Kid]]: Mary Vance

* Mr.Imagination: Young Anne. Her children, as well, have Rainbow Valley, in which they act out all sorts of vivid imaginary play.

* [[The Musical]]: There is one, in fact. It is called ''Anne & Gilbert: the Island Love Story'', and it premiered in 2005. Since, it has become internationally acclaimed.

** That would be, at best, the second such musical. [[wikipedia:Anne of Green Gables %E2%80%93 The Musical|The first]] has been running on P.E.I. and elsewhere since 1965.

* [[My Hair Came Out Green]]: Anne thinks there's nothing worse than having red hair. She learns how wrong she is when she tries to dye it black: even being ''shaved bald'' is preferable to the hideous green hair that is the result of Anne's vanity.

* [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore]]: Anne finds this after she rejects Gilbert's proposal in ''Anne of the Island'', and their close friendship is irrevocably changed. It really hits home after she has her [[Love Epiphany]] and finds that friendship is no longer enough for her but she thinks she may have ruined everything.

* [[Oblivious to Love]]: Anne, naturally, to Gilbert's love for her. However, she takes it one step further; not only is she oblivious to Gilbert's feelings for ''her'', she's also oblivious to ''her'' feelings for ''him''. The fact that she's in love with him blindsides her, while even casual friends can see it.

* [[Obvious Pregnancy]]: Highly averted -- another case of [[Values Dissonance]] between the mores of Montgomery's day and modern readers, who are used to discussing the concept much more frankly. With only a few mentions of preparations, like making baby clothes or discussing if they should tell their other children or wait, it's hard to even tell when Anne and Gilbert are expecting a baby. There was no preamble to Jem's arrival...just his birth!

** Even more so, twins Davy and Dora Keith.

* [[The Power of Love]]: It saves Gilbert from death by typhoid fever. While heartbroken over Anne's rejection of his proposal (twice) and very sick, he receives a letter from Anne's friend Phil, who tells him that Anne is ''not'' getting married to Roy Gardner and advises him to "try again". Gilbert remarks to Anne later that the doctors were amazed at his speedy recovery after that.

* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: In the first Megan Follows film, the producers didn't want Anne to give up her academic dreams at the end, so a throwaway comment of Anne's in the book that she's planning to keep up her studies turns into a full-blown correspondence course.

* [[Preacher's Kid]]: The Merediths, whose earnest efforts to live up to what the community requires of them only sink them deeper and deeper into trouble with it.

* [[Prim and Proper Bun]]: Katherine Brooke, the [[Stern Teacher|Stern Principal]] in ''Anne of Avonlea'', in contrast to [[Blithe Spirit|Anne]]'s looser, less severe bun.

* [[Product Placement]]: After Anne's short story is rejected by a literary magazine, Diana sends it to a baking powder company's advertisement competition, after rewriting the ending so that all hardships are conquered by love ''and'' loving uses of baking powder. The story is published as an advertising flyer for the company and--to Anne's eternal horror--becomes roaringly popular.

* [[The Promise]]

** Anne and Diana solemnly vow to be "bosom friends" forever. Though they begin to grow apart after Anne leaves to attend college while Diana stays home and marries, their friendship remains special to both of them throughout the books.

** Ellen and Rosemary West are [[Christmas Cake]] spinsters, and years ago they promised to never marry and leave each other. Ellen holds Rosemary to it, implacably, when Mr. Meredith proposes. When Ellen reunites with her [[New Old Flame]], she doesn't even ask, but she does tell him why, and he asks; Rosemary agrees to free her -- and refuses to tell Mr. Meredith that yes, she can marry him after all. So Ellen can't accept it and is quite certain they will be miserable together.

** A sillier example of this is Rilla's acquiring a [[Nice Hat]] at the start of the war. After being chastised for shopping during a war, she promises to wear it for three years or until the war ends, whichever is longer. "I hate that hat already." She also gleefully destroys it as soon as the war's over. And it wasn't so much for shopping--she'd been sent to buy a new hat--as it was for spending so very much on an ostentatious hat. Frugality during wartime is a running theme throughout the book, with disapproval being heaped on others who seem too materialistic.

* [[Public Domain Character]]: And oh, doesn't Prince Edward Island love it that way.

* [[The Quiet One]]: Una Meredith and Shirley Blythe, for each respective family.

** Gilbert even lampshades it after he and Anne get married. Anne tells Gilbert that Leslie's life was wasted by staying in Four Winds taking care of her mentally disabled husband, that she was born for leadership in social and intellectual circles. Gilbert makes the point that some people might consider Anne's B.A. from Redmond wasted by being married to a poor country doctor. He goes on to say that if she had married Roy Gardner, she could have been a leader in social and intellectual circles. Anne is ''not'' amused.

* [[Romantic Two-Girl Friendship]]: Anne and Diana. Not quite as sentimental as the traditional model, though.

* [[Schoolmarm]]: And schoolmasters. There are so many in the series, as all of the schools on the Island minus colleges are one-room schoolhouses. Anne has a few, then eventually becomes one, as do many of her classmates. Gilbert becomes a schoolmaster, and it becomes a plot point that he gives up his Avonlea school post so Anne can remain closer to Green Gables and assist an ailing Marilla.

* [[Secret Identity]]: There's a bit of this in ''The Road to Yesterday''/''The Blythes Are Quoted''. George Fraser assumes a made-up identity Don Glynne when courting Christine in "The Pot and the Kettle" to [[Secretly Wealthy|see if she would love him even if he wasn't rich]]. Jerry Thornton is mistaken for his second cousin, Dick, by Susette King but decides to go along with the charade for a pragmatic reason -- until she figures it out towards the end.

* [[Shipper on Deck]]: By ''Anne of the Island'', the Anne/Gilbert [[UST]] has become so prominent that everyone close to Anne ships her with Gilbert. Mrs. Lynde and Marilla are overt supporters of the two, and then Davey innocuously asks if Gilbert will marry Anne soon, which is ''then'' followed by Mrs. Irving nee Lavender scolding Anne about her stubbornness of her denials of not loving Gilbert. Philippa Blake is aghast when Anne refuses him, and if you hold to the [[Fanon]] view that Diana has feelings for Gilbert but selflessly hid them because she knew her "bosom friend" was in love with Gilbert, that counts too.

* [[Sibling Rivalry]]: Surprisingly absent, considering there are six Blythe children.

* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: Anne and Gilbert started out this way. Only it was more like Taunt Taunt Crack Slate Over Head. Eventually, they matured beyond it and landed in [[Just Friends]] territory.

* [[Slice of Life]]: pretty much the whole series is this.

* [[Speech Impediment]]: Rilla has a pronounced lisp as a child. She outgrows it by ''Rilla of Ingleside'', but it still crops up when she's nervous. Much to her embarrassment, because she apparently works very hard to get rid of it. When {{spoiler|Ken Ford proposes}}, she answers with "Yesth".

* [[Spell My Name with an "S"|Spell My Name with an E]]: Anne famously insists that her name to be spelled with an "e", regardless of the fact that it's silent anyway. In her mind's eye it ''looks'' far more dignified than just plain Ann.

* [[Strange Girl]]: Anne.

** Also, Elizabeth Grayson from ''Anne of the Island'' and, for a male version, Paul Irving, who first shows up in ''Anne of Avonlea''.

* [[Sweetie Graffiti]]: Avonlea school children chalk up "Take Notice" comments about who likes so-and-so on the schoolhouse wall.

* [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]]: Younger Anne's only requirements for her future husband.