Anne of Avonlea

The recurring motif of Anne’s optimism is her greatest strength and her greatest weakness, as the power of positive thinking often leads her down roads of heartbreak and victory. Her firm belief that “there is some good in every person if you can find it” (22) makes her a resilient figure when it comes to overlooking her first impressions of people. In the novel, Anne often must educate those who respond to any event in life with a negative outlook. For instance, Miss Eliza Andrews, who believes “the world is getting worse every day” (35) and who does not have a pleasant thing to say about anyone or anything, cannot deter the bright vivacity of Anne, who believes the best is always just around the bend.

In the same vein, Anne attaches herself to the possibility that she can reunite Miss Lavendar with her long-lost love. Through the fateful determination of choosing the wrong path upon a twisted road, she holds steadfast to the belief that love can conquer all—a childish sense of innocence, yes, but one ideal that proves to be realistic in the course of the novel as she assists in a “dream come true” scenario for Miss Lavendar and Stephen Irving.