Anne of Green Gables, Chapters Nine to Eleven

In which Mrs. Rachel Lynde and Anne are terribly rude to each other, Anne enjoys apologizing perhaps a bit too much, and we all learn of the importance of puffed sleeves, and not for the last time let me tell you.



Oh, we've got a delightful illustration for this set of chapters, of Anne flying into a temper at Mrs. Lynde's... critique of Anne's appearance. This is not the last time we will see Anne's temper illustrated.

5:08 - "'I hate you,' she cried in a choked voice, stamping her foot on the floor."

Quick couple of notes: Mrs. Lynde had suffered from the grippe, which I've seen and heard a ton in old media but had to look up to figure out precisely what it is. Turns out it's just another word for the flu. At the end of Chapter 9, when Marilla leaves "this Parthian shaft to rankle in Anne's stormy bosom" (and BOY does that sentence come across differently out of context) she's referring to a tactic of the Parthians, an Iranian people known for their archery, to feign retreat and then fire while running away. Thus, a metaphorical "Parthian shaft" is getting that one last verbal jab in before leaving. I noticed, though, that upon googling the phrase, an awful lot of the results refer directly to its usage here in Anne of Green Gables, so I wonder just how widespread an idiom it was.

UPDATED 10/3/13: Well, drat, somehow I completely missed that there was a whole 'nother illustration in this section! Here, we get to see Anne walking down the church aisle, with the wreath of flowers on her hat:

29:55 - "They looked at her and whispered to each other."

Note that the other ladies do indeed have puffed sleeves. This will come up a surprising amount.


If you would like to read along, the text can be found at Project Gutenberg. No reading ahead, though!