Anne of Green Gables · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Anne Shirley
major
Also known as Anne, Anne of Green Gables, Nancy, Cordelia Montmorency, Cordelia, little Anne Shirley, Ann Shirley
Anne arrives at Green Gables expecting to be wanted and finds she is not, because the Cuthberts sent for a boy. She meets that rejection the way she meets everything — by talking, naming, and imagining it into something bearable, kneeling at her window to rename a cherry tree and a pond. Her hunger for love and her refusal to be ordinary force Marilla to choose between propriety and this strange, radiant child.
Marilla Cuthbert
major
Also known as Marilla, Miss Cuthbert, Aunt Marilla, Marilla Cuthbert, Cuthbert
Marilla runs Green Gables with scrubbed floors and unsentimental judgments, and she has decided against keeping Anne before she has even met her. But she does not know how to talk to a child, and her awkwardness comes out as curtness, which Anne keeps mistaking for cruelty and then forgiving. Her slow, unspoken softening is the quiet engine of the book's early chapters.
Matthew Cuthbert
major
Also known as Matthew, Mr. Matthew Cuthbert, Mr. Cuthbert, Mattie Andrews
Matthew lives at the far edge of the cleared land, as far from neighbors as a man can get without retreating into the woods, and lets Marilla handle every difficult word. He is the one who goes to the station for a boy and comes home with Anne, and he never once considers it a mistake. His quiet, immediate loyalty gives Anne her first experience of being chosen.
Diana Barry
supporting
Also known as Diana, Di, Barry
Diana is pretty, well-behaved, and everything Avonlea expects a minister's daughter to be, which makes her the perfect counterweight to Anne's impropriety. She is also the first person who ever calls Anne a kindred spirit, and the friendship gives Anne something she has never had: a witness to her own life. When Anne's recklessness puts Diana in trouble at home, the bond has to survive more than either girl expected.
Gilbert Blythe
supporting
Also known as Gilbert, Blythe, Gil, Gil
Gilbert is smart, ambitious, and used to being liked, and he genuinely does not understand what he has done wrong when Anne refuses to forgive him. He wants to get the best out of life and put the best into it, and he meets Anne as an equal in every class they share. Their rivalry sharpens Anne's ambition and gives the story its long, slow-burning question of whether pride can ever be set aside.
Mrs. Rachel Lynde
supporting
Also known as Mrs. Rachel Lynde, Lynde, Mrs. Rachel, Rachel Lynde, Rachel, Mrs. Lynde
Mrs. Lynde considers it her duty to know everything happening within driving distance, and she reads the number of plates on Marilla's table like a detective. She is blunt to the point of cruelty about Anne's hair and temper, and Anne's explosive retort shocks the whole neighborhood. Her eventual change of heart matters because she is the town's opinion, and the town has to decide what to make of Anne.
Miss Muriel Stacy
supporting
Also known as Miss Stacy, Dear Miss Stacy
Miss Stacy arrives at Avonlea school and wins her pupils' affections so completely that Anne expands like a flower under her wholesome influence, carrying glowing reports home to Matthew and Marilla. She prizes nature study, composition, and physical culture over rote lessons, drawing Marilla's suspicion for encouraging boys to climb after crow's nests. Her gift for bringing out the best in her students gives Anne a teacher who sees her worth and a first real glimpse of a wider world.
Mr. Phillips
minor
Also known as Mr. Phillips
The ineffectual schoolmaster before Miss Stacy, who favors some students over others.
Jane Andrews
minor
Also known as Jane, Jane Andrews
A practical, plodding schoolmate of Anne's who joins the Queen's class.
Ruby Gillis
minor
Also known as Ruby, Ruby Gillis
A pretty, romantic schoolgirl and friend of Anne, fond of beaux and gossip.
Josie Pye
minor
Also known as Josie, Josephine
A spiteful, jealous classmate who often taunts Anne and Diana.
Miss Josephine Barry
minor
Also known as old Miss Barry, Josephine Barry, Josephine, Miss Barry, Aunt Josephine
Diana's wealthy, stern great-aunt who softens after meeting Anne.
Mrs. Allan
minor
Also known as Mrs. Allan, Mrs. Allan Anne
The new minister's wife, kind and beloved by Anne as a role model.
Mrs. Alexander Spencer
minor
Also known as Mrs. Spencer, Mrs. Alexander Spencer
The woman who brings Anne to Green Gables from the orphanage.
Prissy Andrews
minor
Also known as Prissy, Priscilla, Andrews
A older student who studies with Mr. Phillips and later marries.
Mrs. Barry
minor
Also known as Mrs. Barry
Diana's mother, initially strict but grateful to Anne for saving Minnie May.
Mr. Superintendent Bell
minor
Also known as Mr. Bell, Superintendent Bell, Mr. William Bell
The stern Sunday school superintendent at Avonlea church.
Miss Rogerson
minor
Also known as Miss Rogerson
A strict teacher at Queen's Academy.
Jerry Buote
minor
Also known as Jerry Buote, Jerry
A French-Canadian boy who works for the Cuthberts.
Mr. Allan
minor
Also known as Mr. Allan
The gentle new minister of Avonlea, respected by the community.
Moody Spurgeon MacPherson
minor
Also known as Moody Spurgeon, Moody Spurgeon MacPherson
A schoolboy with a memorable name, part of Anne's class.
Charlie Sloane
minor
Also known as Charlie, Charlie Sloane
A boy who admires Anne and is part of the Avonlea school.
Tillie Boulter
minor
Also known as Tillie Boulter
A schoolgirl friend of Anne, part of the story club.
Mr. Barry
minor
Also known as Mr. Barry, Mr. and Mrs. Barry
Diana's father, a farmer living next to Green Gables.
Mr. Harmon Andrews
minor
Also known as Mr. Harmon Andrews, Mr. Andrews
A local farmer and father of Jane and Billy Andrews.
Billy Andrews
minor
Also known as Billy, Billy Andrews
A dull-witted schoolboy, brother of Jane Andrews.
Mrs. Peter Blewett
minor
Also known as Mrs. Peter Blewett, Mrs. Peter, Mrs. Blewett
A harsh woman who initially wanted to take Anne as a servant.
Minnie May
minor
Also known as Minnie May
Diana's younger sister, saved from croup by Anne's quick thinking.
Young Mary Joe
minor
Also known as Young Mary Joe, Mary Joe
The hired girl at the Barry household.
Mrs. Thomas
minor
Also known as Mrs. Thomas, Thomas, naughty Mrs. Thomas
The woman who took Anne in after her parents died, before Green Gables.
Mrs. Hammond
minor
Also known as Mrs. Hammond
A woman Anne lived with briefly before coming to Green Gables.
Gertie Pye
minor
Also known as Gertie, Gertie Pye
Josie Pye's younger sister, also a schoolgirl.
Stella Maynard
minor
Also known as Stella Maynard
A friend Anne makes at Queen's Academy.
Mr. Thomas
minor
Also known as Mr. Thomas
The husband of Mrs. Thomas, a drunkard.
Minnie Andrews
minor
Also known as Minnie, Minnie Andrews
A younger sister of Jane Andrews.
Lily Jones
minor
Also known as Lily, Lily Jones
A schoolgirl friend of Anne's.
Carrie Sloane
minor
Also known as Carrie Sloane
A schoolgirl from Avonlea.
Emma White
minor
Also known as Em White, Emma White
A girl from White Sands who attends the hotel concert.
Samuel Lawson
minor
Also known as Samuel, Samuel Lawson
A local man who helps with haymaking at Green Gables.
Tommy Sloane
minor
Also known as Tommy Sloane
A schoolboy who teases Anne.
Bessie Wright
minor
Also known as Bessie, Bessie Wright
A girl from the settlement over the hill.
Robert Spencer
minor
Also known as Robert, Robert Spencer
A local boy mentioned in passing.
Malcolm Andrews
minor
Also known as Malcolm, Malcolm Andrews
A relative of the Andrews family.
Ella May MacPherson
minor
Also known as Minnie MacPherson, Ella May MacPherson, Ella May
A girl from White Sands who dies young.
Mrs. Chester Ross
minor
Also known as Mrs. Chester Ross
A society woman from Charlottetown.
Mr. Marshall
minor
Also known as Mr. Marshall
A merchant in Carmody.
Mrs. Evans
minor
Also known as Mrs. Evans
A neighbor who helps with sewing.
Mr. Smith
minor
Also known as Mr. Smith
The owner of the store where Anne buys hair dye.
Frank Stockley
minor
Also known as Frank Stockley
A young man who flirts with Ruby Gillis.
Geraldine Seymour
minor
Also known as Geraldine, the fair Geraldine
A romantic figure in Anne's imagination, based on a poem.
Miss Lucilla Harris
minor
Also known as Miss Lucilla Harris, Miss Harris
A spinster who boards with the Lyndes.
Mary Alice Bell
minor
Also known as Mary Alice Bell, Alice Bell
A girl from Avonlea who dies young.
Julia Bell
minor
Also known as Julia Bell, Mary, Julia
A schoolgirl from Avonlea.
Lauretta Bradley
minor
Also known as Lauretta, Lauretta Bradley
A girl from White Sands who attends the concert.
William J. Blair
minor
Also known as William J. Blair, Blair, William Blair, Billy
A boy from Avonlea who gives a recitation.
Old Mr. Bentley
minor
Also known as Old Mr. Bentley, Mr. Bentley
An elderly neighbor of the Cuthberts.
The Stationmaster
minor
Also known as the stationmaster
The man at Bright River station who meets Matthew.
The Doctor
minor
Also known as the doctor
The local physician who attends to Marilla's eyes.
The Master
minor
Also known as the master
The schoolmaster before Mr. Phillips, mentioned in passing.
