SPOILER ALERT!!! This post has major spoilers for the entirety of the Anne of Green Gables Series, especially Anne of the Island and Rilla of Ingleside. Also, in retrospect there’s a bit of a spoiler for Little Women and an implied one for Pride and Prejudice too, although I’m not sure whether those count as spoilers or not. I live and breathe Montgomery, Alcott, and Austen, so… if you don’t know about the proposals in either book, there’s probably a spoiler in there.
Comparison/Judgement
In the end, taken all together, I think the quality of the proposals Anne and Rilla received evens out. Both of Rilla’s proposals were quite nice, and suitably romantic, even if one was tragic and the other hopelessly vague. Anne, on the other hand, had to suffer through three rather embarrassing and ridiculous proposals, but she also received two utterly beautiful, iconic, romantic proposals.
Rilla
I’m going to start with Rilla, as she received less proposals; two to Anne’s five. Fred’s proposal was actual rather well-done, it was romantic and moving. Unfortunately for him, Rilla had already promised Kenneth, and therefore he had to be disappointed. Considering he proposed right before going away to World War I, where he might die, this proposal was utterly heartbreaking and tragic. Romantic, but a terrible moment for poor Rilla. Kenneth, meanwhile, was terribly vague. Rilla was left without knowing whether she was really engaged or not! Who does that?!! But it was a romantic war time proposal, and he followed it up with love letters, so I’ll forgive him for the uncertainty.
Anne
So, let’s start with the bad proposals. First things first, there was Billy Andrews. Oh god, poor Anne’s first proposal was mortifying! His sister, Jane, one of Anne’s best friends, proposed for him, and when Anne rejected him, Jane said that it was as well because of Anne wouldn’t have him, he had a back up candidate which would probably work out better when all was said and done! What a mess! And what a blow for Anne, who was such a romantic! Next, we have Charlie Sloane. He’s just… very Sloanish. Enough said about that. His proposal was terribly awkward, and he flew into a legitimate rage at Anne’s refusal, insulting her dreadfully. Finally, we have Roy Gardner, aka Prince Charming. This book (all of Anne’s proposals happen in Anne of the Island) definitely made me sure that I don’t want a Prince Charming. Poor Roy is an utter sop and frankly, his proposal war rather pathetic. I suppose you could call it romantic, but I just found it rather embarrassing. Who wants Prince Charming anyway? I’d rather have Gilbert Blythe any day of the week.
Which leads us to Gilbert, who made both of Anne’s iconic proposals. Despite being rejected the first time, he did give a beautiful and romantic proposal. Actually, I found it somewhat reminiscent of Laurie’s proposal to Jo in Little Women, (whoops, another spoiler) except Anne had no good reason to refuse him (the poor girl was deep in denial) and Gilbert behaved much better (more sensibly too, while we’re at it!) and of course, his second proposal, at the end of the third book, is the most iconic book proposal of all time (and yes, I am counting Jane Austen’s book proposals in there, sorry- I prefer Gilbert over Darcy).
Most Iconic Proposal Quote: “‘I have a dream,’ he said slowly. ‘I persist in dreaming it, although it has often seemed to me that it could never come true. I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it, a cat and dog, the footsteps of friends — and YOU!’” -L.M.Montgomery
Also, “There was nobody else — there never could be anybody else for me but you. I’ve loved you ever since that day you broke your slate over my head in school,” is part of the conversation, and I think is terribly romantic (I really am a total sap) but I don’t really think it counts as part of the proposal.
Bookworm's Haven 