Anne Shirley and Mrs. Allan's Friendship

Anne Shirley's friendship with Mrs. Allan, the new minister's wife, begins the moment the Allans arrive in Avonlea. Anne, who has always longed for a kindred spirit, finds in Mrs. Allan someone who understands her imaginative nature and responds to it with warmth rather than disapproval. From their first meeting, Anne is captivated: "Mrs. Allan is perfectly lovely," she announces, and she falls "promptly and wholeheartedly in love" with the bright, gentle little lady who assumes the mistress-ship of the manse. Mrs. Allan, for her part, recognizes Anne's unique qualities and treats her with a respect and affection that Anne has rarely experienced from adults outside of Matthew and Marilla.

A Mentor and a Model

Mrs. Allan becomes a crucial influence on Anne's moral and spiritual growth. Unlike the stern, duty-bound religiosity Anne has encountered from figures like Mr. Bell, Mrs. Allan presents Christianity as "such a cheerful thing." Anne, who had always thought religion "kind of melancholy," is transformed by this vision: "I'd like to be a Christian if I could be one like her." Mrs. Allan teaches Anne's Sunday-school class and immediately wins her over by declaring that "she didn't think it was fair for the teacher to ask all the questions"—a sentiment Anne has always held. She encourages Anne to ask questions, and Anne, who is "good at asking questions," takes full advantage. Mrs. Allan also becomes a confidante. During a heart-to-heart talk after a tea at the manse, Anne tells her "everything—about Mrs. Thomas and the twins and Katie Maurice and Violetta and coming to Green Gables and my troubles over geometry." The revelation that Mrs. Allan herself "was a dunce at geometry too" encourages Anne immensely, making her feel less alone in her struggles.

Comfort in Crisis

Mrs. Allan's kindness extends beyond the classroom and the manse. When Anne is laid up with a broken ankle after her fall from the Barry roof, Mrs. Allan visits her fourteen times. Anne marvels at this: "Isn't that something to be proud of, Marilla? When a minister's wife has so many claims on her time!" Unlike Mrs. Lynde, who tells Anne it's her own fault and hopes she'll be a better girl, Mrs. Allan never reproaches her. She is "such a cheerful person to have visit you." After the disastrous liniment cake incident, when Anne is weeping in her room, convinced she is "disgraced forever," it is Mrs. Allan who comes to her, not to scold but to comfort. She tells Anne, "Why, it's all just a funny mistake that anybody might make," and leads her downstairs to show her flower garden. Anne reflects that it was "really providential that Mrs. Allan was a kindred spirit."

A Shared Understanding

The friendship is built on a mutual recognition of imagination and feeling. Mrs. Allan appreciates Anne's artistic nature, praising her for decorating the tea table with ferns and wild roses. She also validates Anne's emotional life. When Anne, grieving Matthew, confesses that she feels disloyal for finding pleasure in the world again, Mrs. Allan gently reassures her: "When Matthew was here he liked to hear you laugh and he liked to know that you found pleasure in the pleasant things around you. He is just away now; and he likes to know it just the same." This understanding helps Anne reconcile her grief with her continuing love for life. Mrs. Allan also gives Anne practical gifts that nourish her spirit: the pictures that adorn Anne's room are given by her, and Anne keeps fresh flowers on the bracket under Miss Stacy's photograph, a sentimental practice she learned from her.

A Lasting Bond

Mrs. Allan's influence on Anne is profound and lasting. Anne consciously strives to be like her, telling Marilla, "I'm trying to be as much like Mrs. Allan as I possibly can, for I think she's perfect." She adopts Mrs. Allan's view that one should "always try to influence other people for good" and that the object in everything should be to do "some good in the world." When Anne decides to give up the Avery scholarship and stay at Green Gables to care for Marilla, Mrs. Allan is one of the few who fully approves, speaking words that bring "tears of pleasure to the girl's eyes." In Mrs. Allan, Anne finds not just a teacher or a minister's wife, but a true kindred spirit—someone who sees the best in her and helps her become her best self.