I'm Sorrey, Anne!

TBM Topic 25: Literary Crushes

"I'm Sorrey, Anne!" by Julie Robison
Trista at Not a Minx, Moron, or a Parasite
Elizabeth at Startling the Day

We three are from the oft-mentioned, widely-speculated upon demographic of young, twenty-something Catholic women. We're here to dispel the myths and misconceptions- please join us for the discussion on Facebook and Twitter!

Top 5 Reasons Why Gilbert Blythe (from the Anne of Green Gables series) Is (and will forever be) My Literary Crush:

5. He was great at nicknames.

Gilbert called Anne "Carrots" for her red hair.

This is before Anne breaks a slate over his head.

"Gilbert Blythe was trying to make Anne Shirley look at him and failing utterly....she should look at him, that redhaired Shirley girl with the pointed chin and the big eyes that weren't like the eyes of any other girl in Avonlea school." (Anne of Green Gables)

4. He gave Anne a challenge (they were fiercely competitive in school, he critiqued her writing style for the better) and always looked out for her (gave up his teaching post for her so she would not have to leave Marilla or Green Gables).

3. He apologized when he was in the wrong... and pronounced "sorry" as "sorrey"!

2. Gilbert loved Anne for who she was, not who he wanted her to be, and more importantly, accept her wholly (temper and all!).

"There is a book of Revelation in every one's life... Anne read hers that bitter night, as she kept her agonized vigil through the hours of storm and darkness. She loved Gilbert--had always loved him! She knew that now. She knew that she could no more cast him out of her life without agony than she could have cut off her right hand and cast it from her. And the knowledge had come too late--too late even for the bitter solace of being with him at the last. If she had not been so blind--so foolish--she would have had the right to go to him now.... If Gilbert went away from her, without one word or sign or message, she could not live. Nothing was of any value without him. She belonged to him and he to her. In her hour of supreme agony she had no doubt of that." (Anne of the Island)

Gilbert Blythe: It'll be three years before I finish medical school. Even then there won't be any diamond sunbursts or marble halls.
Anne Shirley: I don't want diamond sunbursts, or marble halls. I just want you.
(Anne of Avonlea mini-series)

1. Gilbert wanted Anne to be happy, even if it meant it was not with him.

Except that it was.

"I've loved you ever since the day you broke your slate over my head." (Anne of Green Gables)

This last point is what really clinches it for me: throughout the THREE books leading up to their engagement, they became the best of friends and never specifically dated each other. All the while, however, Gilbert was courting and wooing her, because he loved her enough to let her freely choose him. And let me tell you: there were a lot of proposals in the third book.

There are "Anne and Gilbert" moments online. Do yourself a favor and indulge:
Chapter One - School Days
Chapter Two - College Days
Chapter Three - Teaching Days
Chapter Four - Things Change

Honorable mentions: Captain Wentworth from Persuasion and Char from Ella Enchanted.