Dr. Blair

Dr. Blair is the local physician serving the Avonlea and Carmody area, a figure whose professional competence and personal observations provide crucial turning points in the lives of the Cuthberts and their neighbors. Though he appears only briefly, his diagnoses and actions carry significant weight, shaping decisions about Anne Shirley's health, Marilla Cuthbert's eyesight, and the community's perception of Anne's capabilities.

Medical Interventions and Professional Judgment

Dr. Blair is first mentioned in connection with Minnie May Barry's croup crisis. When Diana Barry rushes to Green Gables for help, Anne immediately understands that Matthew Cuthbert has gone to harness the sorrel mare to fetch the doctor from Carmody. Diana, however, sobs that she does not believe Dr. Blair will be found there, as she knows he has gone to town. This absence forces Anne to rely on her own experience nursing Mrs. Hammond's twins through croup, and she successfully treats the child herself. When a doctor finally arrives—having been obliged to go all the way to Spencervale—it is not Dr. Blair but another physician who expresses admiration for Anne's skill, telling Mr. and Mrs. Barry that "that little redheaded girl they have over at Cuthbert's is as smart as they make 'em" and that she saved the baby's life. Dr. Blair's unavailability thus becomes the occasion for Anne to demonstrate her competence and win back the Barrys' friendship.

Role in Marilla's Health Crisis

Later, Dr. Blair becomes directly involved in Marilla Cuthbert's deteriorating eyesight. Marilla reports that Dr. Spencer has been "fussing with glasses" that do no good, and that a distinguished oculist is coming to the Island at the end of June; Dr. Spencer insists she must see him. When Marilla finally visits the specialist, he delivers a grim prognosis: if she does not give up reading, sewing, and any work that strains her eyes, and if she is not careful not to cry, she will be stone-blind within six months. This diagnosis precipitates the crisis that leads Anne to renounce her scholarship to Redmond College and decide to stay at Green Gables to teach, keeping Marilla company and preserving the home they both love.

Broader Community Presence

Dr. Blair also appears in the background of other medical events. When Anne breaks her ankle walking the ridgepole at Diana's party, Matthew is hastily dispatched for the doctor, who comes in due time to discover the injury is more serious than they had supposed—Anne's ankle is broken. The doctor's treatment, though painful, is professionally administered. Dr. Blair is also the physician who, early in the novel, attends to Matthew Cuthbert's heart trouble, which Marilla mentions as one reason they decided to adopt a boy to help with the farm work. Matthew's heart condition, which the doctor warns must be protected from excitement and heavy labor, ultimately proves fatal when the news of the Abbey Bank's failure causes a sudden shock that kills him instantly. Dr. Blair's medical authority thus frames both the family's initial decision to seek help and the tragic outcome that reshapes Anne's future.

Narrative Significance

Dr. Blair functions as a representative of the medical establishment in Avonlea, a figure whose professional judgments—whether delivered directly or reported by others—carry the weight of authority. His absence during Minnie May's crisis allows Anne to prove her practical skills, while his diagnosis of Marilla's eyes forces the novel's climactic choice. Though he never becomes a fully developed character, Dr. Blair's appearances mark key transitions in the plot: from Anne's integration into the community through her successful nursing, to the financial ruin and death of Matthew, to Anne's ultimate decision to sacrifice her own ambitions for the sake of the family she has come to love.