Anne With An E: 15 Inspirational Quotes

Selecting the best quotes from Anne With An E is like trying to find the most beautiful rocks on a beach. Not a single line of the show is wasted. Each character has a unique way of expressing themselves in a way that inspires others. Every episode of the show’s three seasons is jam-packed with evocative dialogue and beautiful words taken from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s books as well as several other classic pieces of literature that weave their way into the narrative — starting, of course, with the title of each episode.

Anne With An E is a show to be remembered on its own, but it’s also an ode to literature; a loving compilation of nods and tributes to remarkable female writers that Anne (and Montgomery) look up to, all surrounding a young woman with a passion for kindness and a determination to change the world for the better.

Updated on February 26th, 2021 by Svetlana Sterlin: The beloved Canadian show may have been canceled after its third season, but it left fans more inspired than ever and has found a second life on Netflix. In fact, the devoted fanbase organized multiple petitions, social media campaigns, watching parties, and even billboards in an effort to bring network attention to renewing the series. The third season ends with many storylines left unresolved, but it’s such an effective and emotional season finale that it feels like a series finale. While the show may be canceled, the words spoken by its incredible characters will never be forgotten and will continue to inspire the show’s devoted audience.

15 “Girls Can Do Anything A Boy Can Do, And More!”

When Marilla first meets Anne, she’s thrown by the young girl’s passionate nature. She agrees to keep Anne only for a week, which Anne spends trying to prove her worth to the immovable Marilla.

Anne insists that she can help around the house and the farm, despite the fact that Marilla deems this a man’s work. Anne becomes jealous of Jerry and tries to compensate by telling Marilla that girls can do anything a boy can do — and more.

14 “A Skirt Is Not An Invitation!”

Anne is new to the whole school environment when she moves to Avonlea. She’s shocked to discover the way the boys treat the girls, and even more shocked to find that the girls are fine with it. In fact, they’re flattered by the inappropriate attention.

When Anne and the girls lean over to put their drinks in the stream, the boys come up behind them and lift their skirts, laughing. The other girls blush and giggle, but Anne is outraged. “A skirt is not an invitation!” she yells, while the others look at her as if she’s said something ridiculous.

13 “Women Matter On Their Own, Not In Relation To A Man.”

In season 3, Anne is enraged after Josie Pye’s reputation is ruined by Billy’s actions. Billy isn’t condemned in any way, but Josie pays the price. In a flight of passion, Anne goes rogue and writes a piece on gender equality in the local paper.

The citizens of Avonlea don’t take it well, especially Josie. Miss Stacy is quick to reassure Anne that if she’d written it in a bigger, more modern environment, the open-minded readers might have accepted Anne’s message. As it is, it’s only after Gilbert presses the group that the girls in the room agree that women matter on their own.

12 “Different Isn’t Bad; It’s Just Not The Same.”

Anne is well aware of the fact that she’s different, even from a young age. She’s proud in a way, but also feels unwelcomed in certain environments.

Anne is very kind to other people who are different, like Cole or Aunt Jo or Bash, but she can’t quite treat herself the way she treats others. It takes her a long time to accept herself, and that she has a lot to offer the world. In the end, she comes to realize that being different doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad; it’s just that it’s not what people are used to.

11 “In My Maturity, I’ve Come To The Happy, Evolutionary Opinion That I’m Unusual, And I Embrace It.”

Season 3 opens on the eve of Anne’s sixteenth birthday. She immediately seems much more mature than the girl from season 2, no longer small and scrawny, but a young woman on the verge of a future bigger than Avonlea.

Anne is praying at her bed as she’s come into the habit of doing, but her prayer is now earnest. She doesn’t wish for trivial matters like raven hair or fewer freckles. In fact, she thanks her holy deity for her individuality. She loves that she’s different, and she acknowledges that she only had to grow up to see that.

10 “I Reckon Every New Idea Was Modern Once — Until It Wasn’t.”

Matthew makes the astute observation that all of the ideas that seem so scandalous and challenging to people in their current day may actually become normal in the future.

It’s such an obvious thing that what was once new must always become old and mundane, taken for granted as simply how things are; and yet people forget this so often. As usual, Matthew’s few words ring an important truth.

9 “I Didn’t Know How Much I Didn’t Know.”

Diana is shocked when she learns that Aunt Jo, one of the show’s most beloved side characters, has been living a completely different life to the one Diana imagined.

She’s so taken aback that she doesn’t even consider why Aunt Jo made the decision to keep her life private from her family, or why it made her happy. At last, Diana sees that she has been raised by narrow-minded parents. This rigid view excluded much of society from Diana’s perception, including Aunt Jo.

8 “It’s Not What The World Holds For You. It’s What You Bring To It.”

In a pivotal moment of their close friendship, Anne reminds Cole that he is valuable and loved, and how, despite how bleak his outlook for life may seem at this dark point, he must focus on what he has to offer the world.

This advice helps him and empowers viewers to see that focusing less on what the world can give and more on one’s own contribution can actually offer greater happiness and hope.

7 “People Are Quick To Point Out Our Differences When In So Many Ways We Are So Alike!”

Anne and Ka’kwet ponder how much they have in common, even though on the surface level, it seems like they’re completely different. The society they live in would scorn Anne’s dalliance with the villagers, but Anne values Ka’kwet as an equal.

Ka’kwet comes from a tribe of Indigenous peoples who face violence and prejudice from the white community. Anne and Ka’kwet speak different languages and know different cultures, but they share some of the most basic things in life, like simple pleasures and the joy of friendship.

6 “Tomorrow Is Always Fresh With No Mistakes In It.”

Anne rejoices in the fact that no matter how badly a day goes, a person can always look forward to the start of a brand new day tomorrow. This is an important mindset for Anne to have, given her deep way of feeling.

Coming from a difficult childhood, Anne learns to hold onto hope for tomorrow. Without this hope, she would have difficulty moving forward in the face of adversity — a message that audiences would do well to remember.

5 “I’m Loved Now, But When I Wasn’t, It Didn’t Mean I Wasn’t Worthy Of It.”

It takes Anne a while to come to this conclusion, but when she does, she makes sure to share it with others who might benefit from hearing it. “No one but you is allowed to dictate what you’re worth,” she tells Josie in season 3.

Anne realizes that it’s easy to think that a person’s worth is dependent upon how others treat them. Anne is treated cruelly because of her looks, but she knows by now that the way people treat a person often says much more about themselves and their prejudices than the actual subject.

4 “You Might Want To Think About Why It Is You Feel The Need To Destroy Things.”

Cole expresses this powerful statement to Billy after a few incidents at school. Billy openly disparages Cole, then breaks his wrist, and later the two get into a violent fight in the classroom, which leads to Billy burning his ear on the woodstove.

Cole apologizes, even though he knows Billy has destroyed his and Anne’s secret fort in the woods. Cole shows his maturity and levelheadedness by moving on from the past and refusing to feed into negativity and cruelty — and posits to Billy that perhaps he should ask himself why it is he does the opposite.

3 “How Can There Be Anything Wrong With A Life If It’s Spent With A Person You Love?”

Anne With An E is special for many reasons, and one of these is its focus on non-romantic love. Anne is first taught the value of love through friends and family. Matthew and Marilla take her in, becoming co-parents even though they’re siblings. They’ve spent their lives listening to derisive comments, Marilla being called a spinster, and Matthew an introvert.

Anne knows that their relationship is one of love and that there can’t possibly be anything wrong about it, even though the townsfolk may think otherwise. Aunt Jo is another example of a character judged for her life choices, even though she spent her life living with someone she loved.

2 “Grief Is The Price You Pay For Love, You See.”

One day, early in their friendship, Anne walks in on Aunt Jo crying, alone. Anne feels awkward and almost flees, but Jo wants to show her that it’s alright to share her emotions.

The fact that she’s crying over her lost love, Aunt Jo says, is a small price to pay for her lifetime of joy and love. People are often afraid to love because they’re afraid of loss, but one doesn’t come without the other.

1 “To Bring It Into Daylight, And Realize Nightmares Aren’t So Scary Without The Protection Of The Dark.”

One of Anne’s most beautiful and powerful lines comes after Anne visits the orphanage she grew up in. Cole accompanies her on the harrowing journey, sharing in this key moment of Anne’s development.

Although the visit is emotionally taxing, it also brings the image of the orphanage as a dark, scary place into reality. Seeing it now, in the daytime, in a better place after everything she’s gone through, shines a light on the fact that as difficult as things can be, they are often not so frightening and unsurmountable as the mind would make them seem.