Anne of Avonlea

From the opening page of the novel, Anne dreams about the impact she may one day have on her pupils, students who may one day become “college president[s] or Canadian premier[s]” (1). It does not dawn on her to envision anything less than the absolute pinnacles of success for those under her care, for Anne believes that education has the power to shape lives. To her, education is about learning, not self-gain: to be a small part of a young person’s rise to success is what she feels will bring honor and meaning to her life.

The motif of education appears throughout the novel, not just in Anne’s classroom. As a teacher, Anne completely immerses herself in her students’ lives and development as people. Unlike teachers who simply “teach the basics,” Anne often gathers the students around her to talk to them as people and allow them to “tell [her] their real thoughts about things” (69). This open line of communication—which contributes to their self-worth—expands the definition of education outside the boundaries of a textbook. She is able to gain their love and affection, and, in doing so, she builds upon the student-teacher relationship so that she can reach her students more effectively.

Likewise, her form of education continues at Green Gables as she tries to educate Davy on what it means to be a gentleman. Education is, after all, a continuous endeavor, one that must be worked time and time again to achieve perfection. As her two years at Avonlea school come to a close, Anne has learned as much from her students as they learned from her, and she “talks the talk” by choosing to continue her education at Redmond. Though some in Avonlea chide her for trying to achieve a college degree—believing that women should get married and start a family instead of pursuing frivolous education—Anne knows she must conquer the unknown.

Like Katie Maurice—Anne’s old imaginary friend in the china cabinet from Anne of Green Gables—Paul’s rock people fill in the holes in his life left behind by his deceased mother, absent father, and lack of good friends. He turns to them when he feels lonely because the rock people are the only “people that never change” (74)—meaning that his life has been filled with too much loss. They are the only constants besides his grandmother. This is a huge connection between Anne and Paul, further proving why each loves the other so much. Anne sees a bit of her child self in Paul, and Paul knows that Anne is one of the very few adults who won’t judge him for slipping into the realm of imagination.

The rock people—Nora, the Twin Sailors, and the Golden Lady—teach Paul about life. Nora teaches him about the world beneath the surface of the water (which he can’t see), the Sailors teach him to overcome his fears and go on adventures, and the Golden Lady teaches him to listen to the music in his head that only he can hear. It is through the rock people that Paul learns how to march to the beat of his own drum and embrace that which makes him unique. However, as Paul ages, he relies on the rock people less and less as he finds new people who love him for who he is—Anne, Miss Lavendar, and Charlotta the Fourth. In later novels in the series, Paul can no longer find the rock people when he visits the shore, symbolizing that Paul has grown up and no longer needs his imaginary friends, for he has people in his life who love him wholeheartedly. From a larger perspective, the presence of the rock people in Paul’s life proves that children need to feel supported and loved, even if those figures are merely in their imagination.