Anne of Avonlea

“You could never tell what might happen if a teacher used her influence for good. Anne had certain rose-tinted ideals of what a teacher might accomplish if she only went the right way about it.”

Anne, in typical fashion, dreams of the utmost possibilities for herself as a teacher. “Rose-tinted” implies the wearing of rose-colored glasses, a symbolic way to view the world in an ideal manner. Her desire to “go the right way” proves that she cannot comprehend what teaching is truly like until she enters the classroom environment. Her adamant decision to not whip children—brought to failure by the obstinance of Anthony Pye—proves that good things can come in where “good influence” fails—at least Anne’s idea of good influence.

“’It’s a pretty good world, after all, isn’t it, Marilla?’ concluded Anne happily. ‘Mrs. Lynde was complaining the other day that it wasn’t much of a world. She said whenever you looked forward to anything pleasant you were sure to be more or less disappointed…perhaps that is true. But there is a good side to it too. The bad things don’t always come up to your expectations either…they nearly always turn out ever so much better than you think.’”

Ever the optimist, this quote proves why so many in Avonlea consider themselves changed upon meeting Anne. Life can drag people toward pessimistic outlooks based on experiences and past failures. With her childlike and innocent view of the world, Anne cannot see the bad. To a young girl who experienced much negative in her youth, this perspective highlights the entrenched optimism with which Anne handles any negativity.

“No, if I can’t get along without whipping I shall not try to teach school. There are better ways of managing. I shall try to win my pupils’ affections and then they will want to do what I tell them.”

In the argument with Jane and Gilbert about how to best manage a classroom, Anne still cannot see beyond her ideal view that children will naturally respond to love and affection. While that may be true for many children under Anne’s care, Anthony Pye is one example of a child who responds better to what he knows—corporal punishment.