Mrs. Rachel Lynde
Mrs. Rachel Lynde is the self-appointed moral sentinel of Avonlea, a woman whose kitchen window commands the main road and whose tongue commands the village. She is introduced as one of those capable creatures who can manage her own concerns and those of other folks into the bargain, a notable housewife who runs the Sewing Circle, helps run the Sunday-school, and is the strongest prop of the Church Aid Society and Foreign Missions Auxiliary. She has knitted sixteen cotton warp quilts, a feat that Avonlea housekeepers recount in awed voices. Her husband, Thomas Lynde, is a meek little man whom the village calls "Rachel Lynde's husband." She lives at Lynde's Hollow, where the Avonlea main road dips into a little hollow fringed with alders and ladies' eardrops, and she keeps a sharp eye on everything that passes, from brooks and children up, ferreting out the whys and wherefores of anything odd or out of place.
First Encounter with the Cuthberts' Plan
When Matthew Cuthbert drives past her window in his best suit with the sorrel mare on a busy afternoon, Mrs. Rachel is immediately suspicious. She knows Matthew ought to be sowing his turnip seed, and his uncharacteristic departure—he is the shyest man alive and hates to go among strangers—demands investigation. She concludes, "I'm clean puzzled, that's what, and I won't know a minute's peace of mind or conscience until I know what has taken Matthew Cuthbert out of Avonlea today." Accordingly, after tea she steps over to Green Gables, where Marilla reveals that they are getting a little boy from an orphan asylum in Nova Scotia. Mrs. Rachel is stricken dumb for five seconds, then delivers a dire warning: she has read of an adopted boy who set fire to a house on purpose, and of another who used to suck eggs. She warns that the child might burn Green Gables down or put strychnine in the well, citing a case in New Brunswick where an orphan asylum child did that and the whole family died in fearful agonies—though she adds that it was a girl in that instance. Marilla responds that they are not getting a girl, as if poisoning wells were a purely feminine accomplishment. Mrs. Rachel leaves to spread the news at Robert Bell's, dearly loving to make a sensation, and privately pities the orphan, reflecting that Matthew and Marilla know nothing about children and will expect him to be wiser and steadier than his own grandfather.
The Inspection and the Explosion
A fortnight later, after recovering from a severe attack of grippe, Mrs. Rachel arrives at Green Gables to inspect the orphan. She finds Anne out in the orchard, and when the child comes in, Mrs. Rachel delivers her emphatic comment: "Well, they didn't pick you for your looks, that's sure and certain. She's terrible skinny and homely, Marilla. Come here, child, and let me have a look at you. Lawful heart, did any one ever see such freckles? And hair as red as carrots!" Anne, her face scarlet with anger, stamps her foot and cries, "I hate you—I hate you—I hate you—I hate you! How dare you call me skinny and ugly? How dare you say I'm freckled and redheaded? You are a rude, impolite, unfeeling woman!" Mrs. Rachel is horrified, exclaiming, "Did anybody ever see such a temper!" Marilla, recovering her speech, sends Anne to her room. Mrs. Rachel then tells Marilla she does not envy her job bringing that up, and advises a fair-sized birch switch as the most effective language for that kind of child. She sweeps out, declaring she cannot visit again in a hurry if she is liable to be flown at and insulted.
The Apology and Reconciliation
Marilla insists that Anne must apologize to Mrs. Lynde. After a day of stubborn refusal, Anne finally agrees, prompted by a whispered plea from Matthew. When they arrive at Mrs. Lynde's, Anne drops to her knees before the astonished woman and delivers an elaborate, theatrical apology: "Oh, Mrs. Lynde, I am so extremely sorry. I could never express all my sorrow, no, not if I used up a whole dictionary. You must just imagine it." She confesses that her hair is red and she is freckled and skinny and ugly, and begs forgiveness. Mrs. Lynde, not being overburdened with perception, does not see that Anne is actually enjoying her valley of humiliation; she only perceives a thorough apology and all resentment vanishes from her kindly, if somewhat officious, heart. She tells Anne to get up, admits she was a little too hard on her, and offers hope that Anne's red hair may darken to a handsome auburn when she grows up. Anne declares Mrs. Lynde a benefactor. Later, Mrs. Lynde tells Marilla that Anne is a real odd little thing but there is something kind of taking about her, and that a child with a quick temper who blazes up and cools down is never likely to be sly or deceitful. "On the whole, Marilla, I kind of like her."
Ongoing Role in Avonlea
Mrs. Lynde remains a constant presence throughout Anne's life at Green Gables. She is the source of news and gossip, the advisor on child-rearing, and the voice of conventional wisdom. When Anne gives Diana currant wine by mistake, Mrs. Lynde reports the scandal to Marilla. When Anne breaks her ankle walking a ridgepole, Mrs. Lynde visits and tells Anne it is her own fault and hopes she will be a better girl on account of it. When Marilla's eyesight fails and she considers selling Green Gables, Mrs. Lynde advises her to sell the farm and board somewhere—with her, she supposes. Yet Mrs. Lynde also shows genuine warmth: she makes Anne a dress with puffed sleeves at Matthew's request, and she is the first to tell Anne that the trustees have given her the Avonlea school after Gilbert Blythe withdraws his application. She declares, "I just guess she has done well, and far be it from me to be backward in saying it. You're a credit to your friends, Anne, that's what, and we're all proud of you." Marilla, reflecting on Mrs. Lynde's character, admits that she is a good Christian woman who means well, and that there isn't a kinder soul in Avonlea, though she sometimes wishes Mrs. Lynde would not keep nagging people to do right. Mrs. Lynde herself, looking back on the day of Anne's tantrum, tells Marilla, "I did make a mistake in judging Anne, but it weren't no wonder, for an odder, unexpecteder witch of a child there never was in this world, that's what." She concludes that Anne has turned out a real pretty girl, and that when Anne is with other girls, though she is not half as handsome, she makes them look kind of common and overdone—like white June lilies alongside big red peonies.
