• Anne Blythe •

Birth Name: Anne 'Nan' Blythe

Date of Birth: 1895

Birth Location: Ingleside, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Parents: Gilbert and Anne Blythe

Spouse: Jerry Meredith

Children: /

Siblings: Joyce 'Joy', James Matthew 'Jem', Diana 'Di', Walter Cuthbert, Shirley, Bertha Marilla 'Rilla'

Location: Ingleside

Hair colour: Nut-brown

Eye colour: Nut-brown

In Books: Anne of Ingleside (1939), Rainbow Valley (1919), Rilla of Ingleside (1920), The Road to Yesterday (1974)

Quote: "Oh, I couldn't get away from twins...they're my destiny. But I'm disappointed mine don't look alike...not one bit alike. Nan's pretty, though, with her brown hair and eyes and her lovely complexion." (Chapter 2, Anne of Ingleside (1939))

"Since they did not look in the least alike they were never dressed alike. Diana, with her red hair, could not wear pink, but it suited Nan, who was much the prettier of the Ingleside twins. She had brown eyes, brown hair and a lovely complexion, of which she was quite aware even at seven. A certain starriness had gone to the fashioning of her. She held her head proudly, with her little saucy chin a wee bit in evidence, and so was already thought rather "stuck-up."" (Chapter 25, Anne of Ingleside (1939))

"Nan had inherited in full her mother's gift of imagination and was already making life interesting for herself in her own way. For example, she had had no end of excitement this summer making bargains with God, the gist of the matter being, "If you'll do such-and-such a thing I'll do such-and-such a thing."" (Chapter 25, Anne of Ingleside (1939))

Background: Anne, otherwise affectionately known as 'Nan' by her family, has a fraternal twin - Diana, or 'Di'. The two girls are the only twins in the family, and to Anne's dismay, they look nothing alike. Nan has nut-brown hair and eyes and considered the prettier of the twins, while Di (their father's favourite) has flaming red hair and green eyes. Nan has her bouts with mischief. In Anne of Ingleside (1939), she removes the top of a vaseline tube and gets it stuck up her nose, she drinks an entire bottle of perfume from her mother's dressing table, and she and Di name their old china doll (that has a split head) after Aunt Mary Maria. They drown the doll in the rainwater hogshed whenever Aunt Mary Maria scolds at them. She makes bargains with God, such as if the missing eye from her china cat is restored, she will walk fourteen times around the barn on all fours. In a strange twist, Susan Baker finds the eye and glues it on for her. Seeing this, Nan quickly goes to fulfill her promise. In another instance, she holds up the end of the bargain by going twice around the living room without touching the floor, by jumping from one piece of furniture to the next! However, shortly after starting school in late August of 1902, Anne catches pneumonia. Nasty Amy Taylor at school says Nan's mother would make a "sweet-looking corpse", so Nan prays to God that if He saves her mother, she will walk through the graveyard (which she is is terrified of doing). Sure enough, Anne recovers bit by bit, and Nan keeps her promise by attempting to walk through the graveyard. Fear takes over her and she runs home. She later explains her reasoning to Anne for this, which prompts some clarification with her theology, and probably a much well-hearted laugh between her and Gilbert. She brings home Shrimp, a kitten that was beaten in the Village, and adopts it as her pet. When the Merediths arrive, Nan and her other siblings embrace the rambunctious kids. One of those kids, Jerry Meredith, becomes her beau. She attends Redmond College and goes to Kingsport to help out with the Red Cross during the First World War.

Last updated: February 24, 2007
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