I felt the same way about everything you mentioned in these chapters! Right down to the cat - I was actually shocked she even considered it! And I really felt that something about these chapters felt much more like the first book, which really drew me in. I thought that moment with Ruby, finally alone with Anne and admitting all her fears about dying, was so important for both of them.
I definitely think that Anne loves Gilbert. I've strongly identified with Anne from the beginning, and especially in this. I had such ideal romantic ideas about love in my head that when I started dating my husband, I kept waiting for some ideal moment when I would finally, officially fall in love. All the time I knew I loved him, but I was so caught up in my own expectations that it took me months to realize I was already *in love* with him and that our love was just much quieter and calmer than I originally imagined. For me, it was less about fear and more about not realizing what I already had, and it feels that way as I read about Anne and Gilbert.
This set of chapters is where slow reading comes into its own, IMO. I've read this book so many times, but never slowly! Looking at these chapters specifically, I think your title for this post is a very good one. It really feels like LMM is intentionally piling on these various griefs and difficulties, building up to this one right at the end: Anne has refused Gilbert, he will not be satisfied with friendship, and so now she must contemplate a world with no Gilbert in it - perhaps the hardest thing of all.
It's also interesting that we start this section with Diana and Mr Harrison gently trying to puncture the unrealistic romance in Anne's writing - which Diana finally achieves by entering it in the baking powder competition - and we end with Phil telling Anne some home truths about her own romantic life.
Anne is an adult, but she still has a lot of learning to do. ☺️
The section with Ruby's death has always felt like such a sad interlude to me. The TB epidemic was still at its height when LMM was writing, and I'm sure some of her own experiences went into the account of Ruby at this time. So much living still to do! And yet, while obviously sad, Anne and Diana seem to take it fairly philosophically - perhaps much more used to the idea of early death than those of us in the global north are today.
Yes, this was a heartbreaking set of chapters. I have to believe Phil is correct about Anne’s fear of falling in love with Gilbert. Perhaps the summer apart will get her to rethink her position. But will Gilbert move on?
I felt the same way about everything you mentioned in these chapters! Right down to the cat - I was actually shocked she even considered it! And I really felt that something about these chapters felt much more like the first book, which really drew me in. I thought that moment with Ruby, finally alone with Anne and admitting all her fears about dying, was so important for both of them.
I definitely think that Anne loves Gilbert. I've strongly identified with Anne from the beginning, and especially in this. I had such ideal romantic ideas about love in my head that when I started dating my husband, I kept waiting for some ideal moment when I would finally, officially fall in love. All the time I knew I loved him, but I was so caught up in my own expectations that it took me months to realize I was already *in love* with him and that our love was just much quieter and calmer than I originally imagined. For me, it was less about fear and more about not realizing what I already had, and it feels that way as I read about Anne and Gilbert.
This set of chapters is where slow reading comes into its own, IMO. I've read this book so many times, but never slowly! Looking at these chapters specifically, I think your title for this post is a very good one. It really feels like LMM is intentionally piling on these various griefs and difficulties, building up to this one right at the end: Anne has refused Gilbert, he will not be satisfied with friendship, and so now she must contemplate a world with no Gilbert in it - perhaps the hardest thing of all.
It's also interesting that we start this section with Diana and Mr Harrison gently trying to puncture the unrealistic romance in Anne's writing - which Diana finally achieves by entering it in the baking powder competition - and we end with Phil telling Anne some home truths about her own romantic life.
Anne is an adult, but she still has a lot of learning to do. ☺️
The section with Ruby's death has always felt like such a sad interlude to me. The TB epidemic was still at its height when LMM was writing, and I'm sure some of her own experiences went into the account of Ruby at this time. So much living still to do! And yet, while obviously sad, Anne and Diana seem to take it fairly philosophically - perhaps much more used to the idea of early death than those of us in the global north are today.
Apologies - I meant to post this as a separate comment rather than as a reply to another comment!
Yes, this was a heartbreaking set of chapters. I have to believe Phil is correct about Anne’s fear of falling in love with Gilbert. Perhaps the summer apart will get her to rethink her position. But will Gilbert move on?