Warning: If you have a visual impairment, use the manuscript transcript version including the Lucy Maud Montgomery’s foot notes and contextual annotation references.

Chapter 5

87

and neglect No wonder ; for Marilla was shrewd enough to read between the lines of Anne’s history and divine the truth.” No wonder she had been so delighted at the prospect of a real home. It was a pity she had to be sent back. What if she, Marilla, should indulge Matthew’s unaccountable whim + let her stay. He was set on it; and the child seemed a nice teachable little thing.

“She’s got too much to say,” thought Marilla, “but she might be trained out of that. And there’s nothing rude or slangy in what she does say. (begin subscript)^(end subscript)(begin superscript)She’s ladylike. (end superscript)It’s likely her people were nice folks.”


TEXT ANNOTATION

"divine the truth": The "truth" that Marilla was able to divine, and which Montgomery chose not to describe in detail in her narrative, has intrigued re-readers of the novel, especially. Budge Wilson's prequel, titled Before Green Gables, fills in some details outlined by Anne and the underlying "truths" divined by Marilla. The popular CBC mini-series, Anne with an E, shows Anne sometimes suffering, through flashbacks and disorientation, from the early harsh treatment she experienced. There were virtually no uniform regulations to protect orphans in the time Anne’s story is set. See other adaptations in Anne's Legacies.