Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Gilbert Blythe

We were tempted to name the antagonist as Josie Pye, but remember the scene where Anne recites at the concert? Totally paralyzed by stage fright, it takes seeing Gilbert Blythe in the audience to make Anne recite. Josie's sitting next to Gilbert, literally sneering, but Anne doesn't care about her.

In Anne's mind, she's in a constant fight with Gilbert that she's determined to win. Gilbert is the type of antagonist who pushes Anne without being mean, who makes her strive, again and again, to be the top of her class. By the end of the book, even the antagonist becomes a friend. Aww.