“We always love best the people who need us”

Anne Shirley’s expression “we always love best the people who need us” gives a name to the attachment she feels toward Davy: his mischief and dependence draw her affection rather than diminish it. Spoken while Anne and Marilla Cuthbert weigh how to raise Davy and his sister Dora, the maxim contrasts a child who demands care with one who seems to need very little, and suggests that being needed can deepen a relationship.

The Conversation Behind the Maxim

The remark comes amid a disagreement about whether the twins should attend school. Anne argues that Davy’s troublemaking is mischief, not evidence of badness: he has no other boys to play with, and Dora, in Anne’s view, is too prim to be a suitable playmate. She thinks school might be better for them. Marilla refuses, following her father’s view—and Mr. Allan’s—that children should not be sent to school before seven. The twins may have lessons at home, but they will not attend school yet.

Anne accepts that Davy will have to be reformed at home, but her resolve to guide him is inseparable from her affection. She calls him a dear little boy despite his faults and admits that she likes him better than Dora, although Dora is so well behaved. The maxim follows from this candid preference: Davy needs the adults’ attention, while Dora appears able to manage without constant direction.

Need, Conduct, and Affection

Dora’s goodness is not dismissed; it is precisely what makes her seem less dependent. Anne says Dora would behave just as well without anyone telling her what to do, and describes her as already brought up. In this comparison, good conduct and emotional need do not align: Dora is the easier child, but her self-sufficiency gives the adults fewer occasions to guide and protect her.

Davy, by contrast, is difficult enough to require deliberate reform. Anne does not present that need as a virtue in itself or deny its costs. Instead, she recognizes that the work of caring for him creates closeness. Her maxim makes dependence relational: the child’s need calls forth the adult’s care, and the response becomes a source of love.

Marilla’s Agreement and the Maxim’s Significance

Marilla admits that she may like Davy better too, even though she recognizes that this is not fair to Dora, who causes no trouble and is hardly noticed in the house. Her confession confirms that Anne’s insight is not merely a private sentiment. Both caregivers feel the pull of the more demanding child, while remaining aware that the quieter child deserves consideration as well.

Marilla’s final comparison points toward a different response: Rachel Lynde, she says, would recommend a good spanking. The contrast places Anne’s approach beside a disciplinary alternative. Rather than treating Davy’s mischief only as conduct to punish, Anne connects it to his circumstances and answers it with continued care. The maxim captures that choice without resolving the tension it exposes: affection may gather around the child who needs most, but Dora’s quietness should not make her less worthy of attention.