Formation of the Queen's Class

Miss Stacy, the bright and sympathetic teacher who had become a true friend and mentor to Anne, came to Green Gables one November afternoon while Anne was out with Diana. She brought a proposal that would reshape Anne's immediate future: she wanted to organize a class among her advanced students who meant to study for the entrance examination into Queen's Academy, offering them extra lessons for an hour after school. She came to ask Matthew and Marilla if they would allow Anne to join.

Anne's Ambition and the Cuthberts' Decision

When Marilla relayed the news that evening, Anne straightened to her knees and clasped her hands. "It's been the dream of my life—that is, for the last six months, ever since Ruby and Jane began to talk of studying for the Entrance," she confessed. She had not dared to speak of it, supposing it would be perfectly useless. But Marilla, after consulting with Matthew, gave her answer: "When Matthew and I took you to bring up we resolved we would do the best we could for you and give you a good education. I believe in a girl being fitted to earn her own living whether she ever has to or not." Anne flung her arms about Marilla's waist, promising to study as hard as she could and to be a credit to them, though she warned them not to expect much in geometry. Marilla, concealing her pride, told Anne that Miss Stacy had called her bright and diligent—but would not repeat the full praise, for that would have been to pamper vanity.

The Class and Its Members

The Queen's class was organized in due time. Gilbert Blythe, Anne Shirley, Ruby Gillis, Jane Andrews, Josie Pye, Charlie Sloane, and Moody Spurgeon MacPherson joined it. Diana Barry did not, as her parents did not intend to send her to Queen's. This separation struck Anne as a calamity. On the evening when the Queen's class first remained after school for extra lessons and Anne saw Diana go slowly out with the others to walk home alone through the Birch Path and Violet Vale, a lump came into her throat. She hastily retired behind her Latin grammar to hide the tears in her eyes, unwilling to let Gilbert Blythe or Josie Pye see them. "But, oh, Marilla, I really felt that I had tasted the bitterness of death, as Mr. Allan said in his sermon last Sunday, when I saw Diana go out alone," she mourned that night.

Rivalry and Growth

Open rivalry between Anne and Gilbert now became the engine of the class. Previously the competition had been one-sided, but there was no longer any doubt that Gilbert was as determined to be first as Anne was. He was a foeman worthy of her steel; the other members tacitly acknowledged their superiority and never dreamed of competing with them. Since the day by the pond when Anne had refused his plea for forgiveness, Gilbert had ignored her entirely, and Anne discovered that it is not pleasant to be ignored. Deep down she knew she did care, and that if she had that chance again she would answer very differently. The old resentment was gone—gone just when she most needed its sustaining power. But she determined to shroud her feelings in deepest oblivion, and succeeded so well that Gilbert could not console himself with any belief that she felt his retaliatory scorn.

The Winter's Work and Its Significance

The winter passed in a round of pleasant duties and studies. For Anne the days slipped by like golden beads on the necklace of the year. She was happy, eager, interested—there were lessons to be learned and honor to be won, delightful books to read, new pieces to practice for the Sunday-school choir, pleasant Saturday afternoons at the manse with Mrs. Allan. When spring came, studies palled a little; the Queen's class, left behind in school while others scattered to green lanes and leafy wood cuts, looked wistfully out of the windows. Even Anne and Gilbert lagged and grew indifferent. But Miss Stacy told them on the last evening that they had done good work and deserved a jolly vacation, warning them that the next year would be the tug of war—the last year before the Entrance. When Anne learned that Miss Stacy had decided to return to Avonlea rather than take another school, she cried out, "Dear Stacy, it would be perfectly dreadful if you didn't come back. I don't believe I could have the heart to go on with my studies at all if another teacher came here." That night she stacked all her textbooks in an old trunk in the attic, locked it, and threw the key into the blanket box, declaring she would not even look at a schoolbook in vacation. The Queen's class had set her on a path that would lead to triumph, heartbreak, and ultimately to the bend in the road where she would choose love over ambition.