The antagonistic relationship between Anne Shirley and Josie Pye

Anne Shirley and Josie Pye are locked in a persistent, low-level antagonism that runs through the entire novel, a rivalry rooted in temperament and social standing rather than any single dramatic event. Josie, sharp-tongued and envious, repeatedly targets Anne's insecurities—her red hair, her orphan status, her poverty—while Anne, fiercely proud and imaginative, responds with a mixture of wounded fury and theatrical disdain. Their conflict never becomes the central engine of the plot, but it functions as a recurring foil, illuminating Anne's emotional growth and the subtle hierarchies of Avonlea's juvenile society.

Origins and Early Encounters

The hostility begins almost as soon as Anne enters Avonlea school. Josie Pye is established early as a cheat and a gossip: Anne catches her peeping into her book during a spelling test and, with a "look of freezing scorn," causes Josie to miss the word. This sets the pattern—Josie's underhandedness met by Anne's righteous indignation. When Gilbert Blythe taunts Anne by calling her "Carrots" and she breaks her slate over his head, Josie is among those who smile maliciously at Anne's public humiliation on the platform. The Pye family as a whole is regarded with suspicion; Diana Barry declares "those Pye girls are cheats all round" after Gertie Pye steals her place at the brook for her milk bottle. Josie inherits this reputation and amplifies it with a personal vendetta against Anne.

The Ridgepole Dare and Its Aftermath

The most consequential clash occurs at Diana Barry's party, where Josie, flushed with victory after walking the board fence, dares Anne to walk the ridgepole of Mr. Barry's kitchen roof. Anne, feeling her "honor is at stake," accepts and falls, breaking her ankle. The injury keeps Anne housebound for seven weeks, causing her to miss the arrival of the new teacher, Miss Stacy, and to fall behind in her studies. Yet even in her convalescence, Anne shows a nascent maturity: when Josie Pye comes to visit, Anne receives her "as politely as I could, because I think she was sorry she dared me to walk a ridgepole. If I had been killed she would have had to carry a dark burden of remorse all her life." This is a significant step for Anne, who earlier would have nursed a grudge; she is learning to see beyond her own injury to the consequences for others.

The Hair Dye Incident and Public Scorn

Josie's most cutting attack comes after Anne, in a moment of vanity, dyes her hair green. When Anne returns to school with her head shorn, Josie does not fail to inform her that she looks "like a perfect scarecrow." Anne, in a new exercise of self-restraint, says nothing back, telling Marilla that she "thought it was part of my punishment and I ought to bear it patiently." She sweeps Josie "one scornful look and then I forgave her," adding, "It makes you feel very virtuous when you forgive people, doesn't it?" This episode marks a turning point: Anne is consciously choosing forbearance over retaliation, even as Josie's barbs continue to sting.

The Queen's Year and the Avery Scholarship

At Queen's Academy, the rivalry takes on a new dimension. Josie, who has scraped through the Entrance examination with only three marks to spare, puts on "as many airs as if she'd led." She spreads gossip, telling Anne that Frank Stockley has heard Professor Tremaine say Gilbert Blythe will win the medal and Emily Clay the Avery scholarship—a deliberate provocation meant to undermine Anne's confidence. Josie also informs Anne that Frank Stockley noticed her in class and asked who "the red-headed girl" was, to which Josie replied that Anne was "an orphan that the Cuthberts had adopted, and nobody knew very much about what you'd been before that." This casual cruelty, exposing Anne's vulnerable past to a stranger, cuts deep. Yet Anne, by now more secure in her own identity, does not let it derail her. She wins the Avery scholarship, a triumph that implicitly silences Josie's sneers.

Thematic Significance

Josie Pye serves as a constant, low-grade irritant in Anne's life, a figure of petty malice who embodies the social snobbery and small-mindedness that Anne must learn to navigate. Unlike the more formidable Mrs. Lynde or the genuinely dangerous Mrs. Barry, Josie is never a serious threat; she is a schoolyard bully, limited in imagination and power. Her function is to test Anne's developing self-control and to provide a contrast to Anne's own growth. Where Anne learns to forgive, to restrain her temper, and to find her place through merit and hard work, Josie remains static—envious, gossipy, and ultimately inconsequential. The rivalry is not resolved in a dramatic confrontation; it simply fades as Anne outgrows the need to prove herself against such a foe. By the end of the novel, Anne can say with genuine feeling that she is glad Josie won first prize for knitted lace at the Exhibition, because it shows she is "improving"—a quiet victory over her own lingering resentment.