The Slate Incident

The Slate Incident marks the first direct clash between Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe at Avonlea school, transforming Gilbert's casual taunt into a public humiliation that cements a bitter, years-long rivalry. The event reveals Anne's explosive temper when her deepest vulnerability—her red hair—is attacked, and it sets the terms of their relationship: Gilbert's teasing, Anne's unforgiving pride, and the schoolroom as a stage for their mutual defiance.

The Taunt and the Blow

It was during an afternoon when Mr. Phillips was absorbed in explaining algebra to Prissy Andrews at the back of the room, leaving the other scholars largely unsupervised. Gilbert Blythe, a tall boy with curly brown hair and a teasing smile, had been trying without success to make Anne look at him. Anne, oblivious, sat with her chin propped on her hands, her eyes fixed on the blue glimpse of the Lake of Shining Waters through the west window, lost in her own vivid daydreams. Unaccustomed to being ignored, Gilbert reached across the aisle, picked up the end of Anne's long red braid, held it out at arm's length, and whispered in a piercing voice: "Carrots! Carrots!" The word struck Anne like a physical blow. She sprang to her feet, her bright fancies shattered, and flashed an indignant glance at Gilbert from eyes whose angry sparkle was swiftly quenched in equally angry tears. "You mean, hateful boy!" she exclaimed passionately. "How dare you!" And then—thwack—Anne brought her slate down on Gilbert's head and cracked it—the slate, not his head—clear across.

The Punishment and the Aftermath

The entire school erupted in horrified delight. Diana gasped, Ruby Gillis began to cry, and Tommy Sloane let his team of crickets escape as he stared open-mouthed. Mr. Phillips stalked down the aisle and laid his hand heavily on Anne's shoulder, demanding an explanation. Anne returned no answer; it was asking too much of flesh and blood to confess before the whole school that she had been called "carrots." Gilbert, to his credit, spoke up stoutly: "It was my fault, Mr. Phillips. I teased her." But Mr. Phillips paid him no heed. In a solemn tone, he declared his sorrow at seeing a pupil display such temper and such a vindictive spirit, and ordered Anne to stand on the platform in front of the blackboard for the rest of the afternoon. Anne would have infinitely preferred a whipping to this punishment, under which her sensitive spirit quivered as from a whiplash. With a white, set face she obeyed. Mr. Phillips took a chalk crayon and wrote on the blackboard above her head: "Ann Shirley has a very bad temper. Ann Shirley must learn to control her temper," and read it out loud so that even the primer class should understand. Anne stood there the rest of the afternoon with that legend above her, her anger still too hot for tears, confronting Diana's sympathetic gaze, Charlie Sloane's indignant nods, and Josie Pye's malicious smiles. As for Gilbert Blythe, she would not even look at him. She would never look at him again. She would never speak to him.

The Unforgiven Apology

When school was dismissed, Anne marched out with her red head held high. Gilbert tried to intercept her at the porch door. "I'm awfully sorry I made fun of your hair, Anne," he whispered contritely. "Honest I am. Don't be mad for keeps, now." Anne swept by disdainfully, without look or sign of hearing. Diana, walking beside her, felt she could never have resisted Gilbert's plea, but Anne was firm: "I shall never forgive Gilbert Blythe. And Mr. Phillips spelled my name without an e, too. The iron has entered into my soul, Diana." The incident thus planted a deep and lasting grievance, one that would shape Anne's conduct toward Gilbert for years to come, even as her own feelings began, slowly and secretly, to change.