Anne of Green Gables — Chapter 13

About This Passage

The chapter's closing description of Marilla's amethyst brooch — chosen because it is the rare passage where Montgomery turns her camera on Marilla's inner life without filtering it through Anne. The brooch (a memento mori, an heirloom, a Sunday vanity) carries the chapter's argument about the inner economy of beauty: even Marilla, who calls Anne's poetic talk 'nonsense,' lives by 'pleasantly conscious' invisible things. Eight Tier 2 words gather here (sacrilegious, treasured, bequeathed, possession, surrounded, conscious, shimmer, satin).

Narration Prompt

Retell the events of Chapter 13 in order — Marilla calling Anne in from Idlewild, the picnic announcement and basket promise, the kiss, Anne's account of Idlewild and the fairy glass, the wet Saturday and the Sunday church service, and the closing description of Marilla's amethyst brooch. Note both what happens and what stays unsaid between Marilla and Anne.

Discussion Questions

1. Marilla brusquely tells Anne, 'never mind your kissing nonsense,' though the narrator confirms she is 'secretly vastly pleased.' What does this gap between Marilla's words and her inner feeling reveal about how she has been formed — by religion, region, or family — to handle affection?
2. Mrs. Lynde says, 'Blessed are they who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed.' Anne replies, 'It would be worse to expect nothing than to be disappointed.' Whose view does the chapter ultimately endorse, and what does that suggest about Montgomery's beliefs concerning the inner life?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide