Puffed sleeves dress
The puffed sleeves dress is one of the most emotionally charged objects in Anne of Green Gables, a garment that condenses Matthew Cuthbert's silent devotion, Anne's yearning for beauty and acceptance, and the community's evolving perception of the orphan girl. When Matthew, prompted by a sudden, worried observation that Anne was not dressed like the other girls, secretly commissions Mrs. Rachel Lynde to make the dress and presents it to Anne on Christmas morning, the gift becomes far more than a piece of clothing: it is a tangible proof of love, a fulfillment of a dream, and a turning point in Anne's life at Green Gables.
Origins and Motivation
Matthew's decision to buy the dress arose from a quiet crisis of observation. One December evening, watching Anne and her schoolmates practice "The Fairy Queen" in the kitchen, he was struck by a troubling difference: Anne, with her brighter face and starrier eyes, was not dressed like the other girls. Marilla kept her in plain, dark dresses made after the same unvarying pattern, while the other girls were gay in waists of red and blue and pink and white. Matthew, who had never before concerned himself with fashion, resolved to give her one pretty dress, something like Diana Barry always wore. His shy, bungling attempt to buy it himself at Samuel Lawson's store—where he stammeringly asked for garden rakes in December and twenty pounds of brown sugar before fleeing—underscores his profound discomfort with such errands and the depth of his determination. He ultimately turned to Mrs. Lynde, who took the matter out of his hands, promising to make the dress in the very latest fashion, with puffed sleeves.
The Dress and Its Significance
The dress itself was a lovely soft brown gloria with all the gloss of silk, a skirt with dainty frills and shirrings, a waist elaborately pintucked in the most fashionable way, with a little ruffle of filmy lace at the neck. But the sleeves were the crowning glory: long elbow cuffs, and above them two beautiful puffs divided by rows of shirring and bows of brown-silk ribbon. For Anne, who had long pined for puffed sleeves—she had prayed for a white dress with puffed sleeves, and had felt that life was not worth living without them—the gift was overwhelming. When Matthew sheepishly unfolded the dress, Anne took it in reverent silence, then burst into tears, exclaiming, "Matthew, it's perfectly exquisite. Oh, I can never thank you enough. Look at those sleeves!" The dress was not merely a garment; it was the materialization of a dream she had carried since her first Sunday at Avonlea school, where every other little girl had puffed sleeves and she had felt miserably out of place.
Consequences and Aftermath
The dress had immediate and lasting consequences. It gave Anne the courage to perform at the Christmas concert, where she was the bright particular star of the occasion. As she later told Diana, when she was called to recite and felt a million eyes upon her, she thought of her lovely puffed sleeves and took courage, knowing she must live up to them. The dress also marked a shift in Marilla's attitude; though she grumbled about the extravagance, she admitted that Anne looked real nice and that she was proud of her. More profoundly, the dress became a symbol of Matthew's love and of Anne's belonging. When, after Matthew's death, Marilla confessed her love for Anne, saying "I love you as dear as if you were my own flesh and blood," the memory of the puffed sleeves dress—the gift that had expressed what Matthew could never say in words—remained a touchstone of that bond. The dress, like Matthew's love, was a gift that asked for nothing in return, and it helped Anne to believe that she was wanted, that she was beautiful, and that she had a home.
