Anne of Green Gables Chapter 17 Summary

A New Interest in Life

Diana is forbidden to play with Anne, they exchange a solemn farewell and tokens, and Anne returns to school where she finds new rivalries and triumphs.

Summary

Anne meets Diana at the Dryad’s Bubble and discovers that Diana’s mother has forbidden their friendship. They stage a romantic, tearful farewell in which Diana gives Anne a lock of hair and they vow eternal loyalty; Anne returns home theatrically grieving but soon resolves to return to school so she can still be near Diana in spirit. Marilla greets Anne’s melodrama with practical skepticism.

Back at school Anne is welcomed enthusiastically by classmates who bring small gifts and tokens of affection. She is hurt by Diana’s public avoidance, but Diana secretly sends a folded note and a red tissue bookmark reaffirming her love. Anne replies in kind. At school Anne’s academic rivalry with Gilbert Blythe intensifies: both excel and outdo one another in different months until they tie and alternate honors; Anne is especially proud but also sensitive about Gilbert’s public congratulations. By term’s end both are promoted and begin more advanced studies; Anne discovers she struggles with geometry and laments the lack of imagination in it, yet she remains buoyed by the liveliness of life and the consolation of friendship memories.

Key events

  1. Diana tells Anne her mother has forbidden their friendship and they have an emotional parting.
  2. Diana gives Anne a lock of hair; Anne vows lifelong devotion and dramatises her impending death.
  3. Anne decides to return to school to be near Diana in spirit.
  4. Classmates welcome Anne back with gifts and attention; she receives a secret note and bookmark from Diana.
  5. Anne and Gilbert begin a steady academic rivalry, trading top marks each month.
  6. Both are promoted to the fifth class; Anne struggles with geometry but remains optimistic.

Analysis

This chapter shifts focus from the private intimacy of Anne and Diana’s friendship to Anne’s integration into the school community and the earliest stages of a significant rivalry with Gilbert. The dramatic farewell scene emphasizes Anne’s romantic temperament and tendency to elevate ordinary events into symbolic, literary moments; the lock of hair functions as a tangible token that anchors her imaginative devotion. The episode with Marilla underscores the novel’s recurring contrast between Anne’s idealism and the adults’ pragmatic attitudes, while the school scenes map Anne’s social rehabilitation: she is adored for her vivacity and theatrical gifts yet also capable of serious study.

Narratively, the chapter balances emotion and plot movement—Diana’s enforced separation creates tension, but the secret note resolves that tension and permits the story to proceed to the classroom arena. The rivalry with Gilbert is introduced as mostly good-natured but also reveals Anne’s stubbornness and pride, traits that complicate her character. Themes of friendship, identity, and the interplay of imagination versus duty are developed: Anne uses romantic language to give meaning to loss, then channels her energies into scholarship, showing growth without sacrificing her imaginative core. Small objects (the lock of hair, the bookmark, the school gifts) act as symbols of belonging and memory.

Important quotes

““I love you devotedly, Anne,” said Diana stanchly, “and I always will, you may be sure of that.””

Diana BarryDiana reassures Anne during their emotional farewell, giving Anne hope and a pledge of lifelong friendship despite her mother's orders.

““I’m going back to school,” she announced. “That is all there is left in life for me, now that my friend has been ruthlessly torn from me.””

Anne ShirleyAnne proclaims her plan to return to school as a way to remain close to Diana in spirit and to give herself a new purpose after their separation.

““It’s perfectly awful stuff, Marilla,” she groaned. “I’m sure I’ll never be able to make head or tail of it. There is no scope for imagination in it at all.””

Anne ShirleyAnne confesses her frustration with geometry, highlighting her reliance on imagination and the challenges she faces in conventional academic disciplines.

Characters in Chapter 17

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