Anne and Diana's friendship
Anne Shirley arrives at Green Gables starved for love and companionship, having never truly belonged to anyone. Her first real hope of finding a friend comes when Marilla Cuthbert mentions Diana Barry, a girl of about her age who lives at Orchard Slope. Anne immediately invests this unknown child with all the romantic longing of her imagination, dreaming of a "bosom friend—an intimate friend, you know—a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul." When she finally meets Diana in the Barry garden, surrounded by tiger lilies in the mellow sunset light, Anne wastes no time. She clasps her hands and asks, almost in a whisper, "Oh, do you think you can like me a little—enough to be my bosom friend?" Diana's frank answer—"Why, I guess so"—launches one of the most celebrated friendships in children's literature.
The Vow and the Oath
Anne, with her characteristic flair for the dramatic, insists that their friendship be sealed with a solemn vow. She instructs Diana that they must join hands over running water—or, failing that, imagine the path is running water—and repeat an oath. Anne goes first: "I solemnly swear to be faithful to my bosom friend, Diana Barry, as long as the sun and moon shall endure." Diana, laughing but willing, repeats the words with Anne's name inserted. This ritual, which Diana initially mistakes for wicked swearing, establishes the sacred, almost legalistic seriousness with which Anne regards their bond. The oath is not mere play; it is a binding contract of the heart, one that Anne will invoke in moments of crisis and that will define the terms of their relationship for years to come.
A Friendship Tested by Tragedy
The friendship faces its first severe test when Anne, intending to offer Diana raspberry cordial during a tea party, accidentally gives her Marilla's homemade currant wine instead. Diana drinks three generous tumblerfuls and becomes thoroughly intoxicated, stumbling home in a disgraceful condition. Mrs. Barry, furious, forbids Diana from ever playing with Anne again, believing the act was deliberate malice. The separation is devastating for both girls. Diana, obeying her mother, can only communicate with Anne through notes passed in school and a secret signaling system using candles and cardboard. Anne, in a state of theatrical despair, declares, "Diana and I are parted forever." Their farewell by the Dryad's Bubble is a masterpiece of romantic grief, with Anne clipping a lock of Diana's jet-black hair and speaking in "thou" and "thee." Yet the bond proves stronger than Mrs. Barry's prohibition. When Diana's three-year-old sister Minnie May falls desperately ill with croup and both parents are away, Diana runs to Anne for help. Anne, drawing on her experience caring for Mrs. Hammond's twins, takes charge, administering ipecac and nursing the child through the night. Her skill saves Minnie May's life, and the grateful Mrs. Barry, realizing her mistake, tearfully reconciles with Anne, restoring the friendship.
The Texture of Daily Devotion
Beyond the dramatic crises, the friendship is built on the small, daily rituals of shared life. Anne and Diana walk to school together through Lover's Lane, Willowmere, Violet Vale, and the Birch Path—places Anne has named with her own poetic imagination. They build a playhouse called Idlewild in a ring of white birch trees, furnish it with broken dishes and a "fairy glass" full of rainbows, and spend countless afternoons reading, talking, and dreaming. They form a Story Club, writing melodramatic tales under noms de plume, and Anne helps Diana cultivate her imagination. Diana, for her part, is a steady, loyal presence who admires Anne's brilliance without envy. When Anne breaks her ankle walking a ridgepole on a dare, Diana visits her every day. When Anne dyes her hair green, Diana is the only outsider who knows the secret and keeps it faithfully. Their friendship is reciprocal: Anne provides the romance and adventure, Diana the warmth and constancy.
The Enduring Bond
As the girls grow older, their paths begin to diverge. Diana does not join the Queen's class to study for the Entrance examination, a separation that Anne feels as a bitter loss. Yet the friendship does not weaken. When Anne goes to Charlottetown for her exams, she writes Diana long, detailed letters. When she returns home, Diana is the first person she wants to see. The novel's final chapters show the friendship as a settled, mature affection. Diana's light still gleams through the gap in the trees, a nightly signal of connection. Anne's decision to give up the Avery scholarship and stay at Green Gables to care for Marilla is made easier by the knowledge that Diana will be nearby. The friendship that began with a solemn oath over an imaginary stream has become one of the novel's great truths: that love, once freely given and faithfully kept, can survive misunderstanding, separation, and the passage of time.
