Anne Shirley (fictional character)

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Anne Shirley (later: Blythe) is a fictional character from the novel Anne on Green Gabels by the Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery , which was first published in 1908. The author said she got the idea for the story from relatives who wanted to adopt a boy but got a girl.

description

Description of Anne when Matthew first met her:

"She was about eleven years old and wore a very short, very ugly dress made of yellow-gray flannel and a faded brown sailor's hat with two thick red braids peeking out from under it. The narrow, pale face of this girl who Matthew Cuthbert was so terrified of , was almost covered with freckles. That the big gray-green eyes sparkled with cheerfulness and joie de vivre and that the mouth had soft, expressive lips, did not escape Matthew at first. "

A special feature of Anne are her red braids and her freckles. She also had poor clothes when she arrived in Avonlea, as she couldn't get better clothes at the orphanage.

Anne is portrayed as an imaginative and dreamy child who likes to imagine herself to be someone else whose life is more carefree than hers. For example, she asks Marilla to call her “Cordelia” or “Geraldine”.

biography

Anne was born into a poor family in Nova Scotia as the daughter of Walter and Bertha Shirley . The exact year of your birth has not been recorded, but it is estimated to be 1865. When she was three months old, they died of yellow fever. Since she had no other relatives, Mrs. Thomas, an acquaintance of the Shirleys, took her in. After their death, she joined the Hammond family, where she was treated like a slave. After Mr. Hammond's death, his wife could no longer afford Anne, so she sent Anne to the Hopetown orphanage.

Arrive at Green Gables, Avonlea

When she was eleven, she was sent to the neighboring province of Prince Edward Island due to a misunderstanding . Because the two single siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert actually wanted to adopt a boy who should help them on their farm. Nonetheless, Matthew is quickly fascinated by Anne's zest for life and her great imagination, which is why he was in favor of including her on Green Gables from the start . Marilla, on the other hand, wants to send Anne back to the orphanage, but is then changed by Anne's lively manner. Otherwise Anne would have come to a woman who would have been even stricter than herself, which she did not want Anne to do under any circumstances. The two siblings adopt Anne, who is now sometimes called Anne Shirley Cuthbert.

One of the first Avonlea residents Anne met is Mrs. Rachel Lynde, who is always up to date with the latest gossip about anything and everything.

Shortly thereafter, Anne also met Diana Barry. A girl her age who quickly becomes her bosom friend. When Anne confuses raspberry juice with a liqueur and thus ensures that Diana is drunk, the two are forbidden from friendship with Mrs. Barry. Quite quickly, however, she realizes that Anne is a good company for her daughter, especially since she helps Diana's little sister, who has croup when no one else can help her.

Another important acquaintance is Gilbert Blythe, who is three years older than Anne, but who is in school in the same year as Anne, since he interrupted his schooling after his father fell seriously ill. After Gilbert insults Anne in their first meeting, she sees him as a rival. Especially at school, she always wants to be better than him. Gilbert shows his affection for Anne several times from the beginning, but she repeatedly lets him down. When Gilbert offers her friendship, she refuses it, which she regrets in the future.

Time as a teacher in Avonlea

As soon as Anne graduated from school in Avonlea, she began her studies at Queen's Academy in Charlottetown to become a teacher. But even during her studies she remained enemies with Gilbert. For her good work she receives a scholarship to Redmond College, which she has to refuse for the time being due to Matthew's death and Marilla's increasing poor eyesight, as she now has to support her on Green Gables. When Gilbert is offered the position as a teacher in Avonlea, he declines and offers it to Anne, and instead accepts a position at another school. In gratitude for his renunciation, she puts the disputes between them aside to end the longstanding rivalry between them and ultimately make them friends.

After the death of two relatives of Marilla, Marilla takes in their twins, Dora and Davy Keith. Since Anne and Marilla are now responsible for the upbringing of the two, their further studies are only delayed. A year later, Mr. Thomas Lynde dies in Avonlea, which is why his wife Rachel moves in with Marilla on Green Gables, so

Anne can now begin her studies at Redmond College. She is even more pleased that Gilbert is coming to Redmond College a year after her. After the wedding of one of Anne's friends, it occurred to her for the first time that Gilbert might have deeper feelings for her.

Redmond College

While studying at Redmond College, Anne also visits the place where she was born to find out more about her parents. She also writes two books, one of which is edited and published by Diana. To get more inspiration, she spends her time alone on Victoria Island .

When Gilbert, who has been in love with Anne for a long time, proposes to her, she refuses it because she does not describe her feelings for Gilbert as love. Disappointed and hurt, Gilbert then distances himself from her. She also rejects Sam Tolliver's later application. Anne later meets Roy Gardner, who is courting her. After a year and a half, he too makes an application. But instead of accepting him, she ends the relationship because she realizes that she doesn't really love him and that he doesn't belong in her life. After Anne finishes her studies at the age of 22, she returns to Avonlea and realizes how much time has passed. Because her old school friend Jane marries a millionaire and her bosom friend Diana Barry (now Diana Wright) gives birth to her first child. Furthermore, Anne believes that she is not in love with Gilbert. However, she is disappointed that they are no longer friends and puzzled by her reaction to rumors that he is in love with Christine Stuart, a student at Redmond College.

Engagement to Gilbert

When Anne learns that Gilbert suffers from the deadly disease typhoid , she stays up in her room all night and realizes from the fear of losing him that she loves him. Encouraged by a letter from Anne's friend Philippa Blake to Gilbert, which says that he should "try" again, Gilbert makes another proposal to Anne after his full recovery, which she then accepts. It is explained that Christine has been engaged to another man for a long time and that Gilbert was only on friendly terms with her as he was asked by her brother to take care of her.

The two have been engaged for three years. The engagement ring was made of pearls instead of a diamond, as Anne says diamonds sadden her because their color isn't the lovely purple she'd dreamed of. Anne continues to work as a teacher, now in the second largest city on the island, Summerside , where she later even rose to become principal. Meanwhile, Gilbert is finishing his three-year medical degree.

Married life and motherhood

After the two get married, Gilbert takes over his uncle's practice in a town near Glen St. Mary. Anne begins supporting her neighbor, Leslie Moore, who has been deeply emotional since her husband was in an accident and has permanent brain damage.

After the death of her first daughter Joyce Blythe in childhood, Anne was very sad and found comfort in her neighbor. Her other children are James Matthew ("Jem"), Walter Cuthbert, the twins Diana ("Di") and Anne ("Nan"), Shirley (the youngest son) and Bertha Marilla ("Rilla"). Anne was sick after both Shirley and Bertha were born, but recovered each time. After Shirley is born, the Blythes maid takes care of him first and foremost until Anne is well. Gilbert and Anne even take a trip to Europe around 1906.

When the First World War begins, all of her sons and two of her future sons-in-law will most likely go into battle. Walter fell in France in 1916 . After the war, James is reported missing, but fled a POW camp five months later.

Anne as a grandmother

When World War II breaks out, Anne has five grandchildren - Jem's sons Jem, Junior and Walter, Rilla's son Gilbert, Nan's daughter Di, and a granddaughter named Anne Blythe, who is either Jems or Shirley's child, the first three of whom would be old enough to go to war. Anne and Gilbert were married for over 50 years.

Books

# Original title German title publication Anne Shirley's age Years in which the action takes place
1 Anne of Green Gables Anne on Green Gables 1908 11-16 June 1877 - summer 1882
2 Anne of Avonlea Anne in Avonlea 1909 16-18 August 1882 - August 1884
3 Anne of the Island Anne in Kingsport 1915 18-22 September 1884 - summer 1888
4th Anne of Windy Poplars Anne in Windy Willows 1936 22-25 September 1888 - summer 1981
5 Anne`s House of Dreams Anne in Four Winds 1917 25-27 September 1891 - autumn 1893
6th Anne of Ingleside Anne in Ingleside 1939 34-40 1900 - September 1906
7th Rainbow Valley Anne in Rainbow Valley 1919 41 May 1907 - September 1907
8th Rilla of Ingleside Anne and Rilla - In love for the first time / Anne and Rilla - The way to happiness 1920 49-54 June 1914 - September 1919

Adaptations

filming

comics

In the years 1997-1998 the comic series Akage no Anne (赤 毛 の ア ン) by Yumiko Igarashi , which consists of five books.

Radio plays

For the 100th anniversary of the first publication of the first volume, the audio play label Titania Medien produced the radio play series Anne on Green Gables . The first five volumes were set to music in four radio plays each, so that there are a total of 20 radio plays. In 2010 the production was stopped, which is why the series ends with episode 20. However, the radio play series was quite successful and received several awards. The voice actors Marie Bierstedt , Lutz Mackensy , Dagmar von Kurmin , Simon Jäger , Jochen Schröder and Regina Lemnitz are among others part of the series.

musical

Anne of Green Gables: The Musical , which also tells the story of Lucy Maud Montgomery, has been performed every year since 1965 . In 2014 the musical was even included in the Guiness Book of Records as the longest running musical theater production.

Web links

Anne on Green Gables Characters The page provides an overview of the characters in the series

Anne Shirley (English)

external sources

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lucy Maud Montgomery. June 6, 2014, accessed July 16, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Lucy Maud Montgomery: Anne on Green Gables . 2nd Edition. Loewe-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7855-6988-7 , p. 24 .
  3. ↑ Source of the years: the respective books
  4. ↑ Anne of Green Gables. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .
  5. ^ Anne with an E | Netflix Official Site. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .
  6. ^ Anne on Green Gables - Titania Media | Atmospheric radio plays with the German voices of many Hollywood stars. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .
  7. ^ Anne of Green Gables - The Musical. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .

Category: Fictional character