seagull

Seagulls are among the natural creatures that populate the Prince Edward Island landscape in Anne of Green Gables, and they appear at a moment of particular significance for Anne Shirley. During her drive with Marilla Cuthbert to White Sands to settle the mistake about her adoption, Anne, who has been largely silent while absorbing the scenery, suddenly rouses from a long, wide-eyed reverie to exclaim, "Isn't the sea wonderful?" She then asks Marilla, "Would you like to be a gull? I think I would—that is, if I couldn't be a human girl." This question reveals the depth of Anne's imaginative engagement with the natural world: she does not merely observe the gulls but projects herself into their existence, envisioning a life of pure, unencumbered motion and beauty.

The Seagull as an Object of Imaginative Identification

Anne's wish to be a seagull is not a casual fancy but a fully developed imaginative exercise. She elaborates: "Don't you think it would be nice to wake up at sunrise and swoop down over the water and away out over that lovely blue all day; and then at night to fly back to one's nest?" This vision of the seagull's daily cycle—from sunrise flight to evening return—mirrors Anne's own yearning for a life that combines freedom with a sense of home. The seagull, in her imagination, is a creature of perfect grace and autonomy, unburdened by the constraints of human society and its judgments about her appearance or orphan status. The fact that she immediately qualifies her wish ("that is, if I couldn't be a human girl") underscores that her identification with the bird is a form of imaginative play, not a rejection of her own humanity, but a way of expanding the possibilities of her inner life.

The Seagull and the Shore Road Setting

The seagulls appear in the context of the shore road, a landscape that Marilla describes as "woodsy and wild and lonesome." The road runs along steep red sandstone cliffs, with the sea shimmering blue beyond, and the gulls soar overhead, their "pinions flashing silvery in the sunlight." This setting is one of the most vividly rendered natural scenes in the novel, and the seagulls are integral to its beauty. They are not merely background details but active participants in the scene, their flight and flashing wings drawing Anne's attention and sparking her imaginative response. The contrast between the wild, free gulls and the constrained, anxious life Anne has known—first in the asylum and then in the homes of Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Hammond—is implicit but powerful. The gulls represent a world of natural order and beauty that Anne instinctively recognizes as akin to her own spirit.

The Seagull as a Symbol of Freedom and Aspiration

Anne's identification with the seagull also carries a thematic weight that extends beyond the immediate scene. Throughout the novel, Anne is characterized by her intense desire for beauty, freedom, and a sense of belonging. The seagull, with its ability to "swoop down over the water and away out over that lovely blue all day," embodies the kind of unrestricted, joyful existence that Anne craves. Her wish to be a gull is thus a metaphor for her own aspirations: to rise above the limitations of her circumstances, to experience the world in all its loveliness, and to find a place where she can be fully herself. The fact that she later, in a moment of profound happiness, tells Marilla, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers," echoes the same spirit of gratitude and wonder that the seagulls first inspired. The gulls, like the White Way of Delight and the Lake of Shining Waters, become part of the imaginative landscape that sustains Anne through her trials and joys.

The Seagull and Anne's Emotional Arc

The seagull episode occurs at a pivotal moment in Anne's early days at Green Gables, when she is still uncertain whether she will be allowed to stay. Her rapturous response to the shore road and the gulls is a testament to her resilience and her capacity to find joy even in the midst of uncertainty. The gulls, with their effortless flight and silvery pinions, offer a vision of a world that is beautiful and indifferent to human troubles—a world that Anne can enter through her imagination and that gives her strength. Later, when she has found a home and a family, the memory of that drive and the gulls remains a touchstone of her emotional life, a reminder of the moment when she first glimpsed the possibility of a future filled with beauty and belonging. The seagulls, in their brief appearance, thus become a symbol of the hope and freedom that Anne ultimately finds at Green Gables.