Anne With An E has earned itself a reputation as a bold and rather gritty adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's popular book series, Anne of Green Gables. The Netflix series makes a number of changes to the original story - including some of the characters' appearances.
Some characters are more important in the books than in the series, and vice versa. If you don't see some of your favorite characters on this list, it's probably because their appearance isn't described enough in the books, or because they don't exist in the original story.
11 Anne Shirley
The appearance of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne was inspired by this portrait of Evelyn Nesbit, who was a model and actress. These are some of the adjectives used to describe Anne's appearance in the books: skinny, homely, ugly, sharp, freckled, and of course, red-haired.
The most notable difference between Montgomery's Anne and the one played by Amybeth McNulty in Anne With An E is the eye color. Montgomery's Anne has green eyes, while McNulty's are blue. However, in the second book, Anne is reintroduced to readers as a "tall, slim girl ... with serious gray eyes and hair which her friends called auburn ..." This change may be natural as Anne grows, but despite all of the changes, the Netflix series emphasizes one message as heavily as the books: appearance is subjective and not all that important.
10 Diana Barry
Diana is Anne's ideal of beauty. In the original text, she has bright black eyes, rosy cheeks, dimples, and glossy black hair.
Dalila Bela shares Diana's dimples, but her hair and eyes aren't dark enough to be called black; neither does she have the rosy cheeks Anne is so fond of in the books. While Anne calls Diana "divinely beautiful" and wishes she had her best friend's darker looks and dimples, Diana wishes she could be as slim as Anne, reinforcing the notion that beauty is subjective.
9 Matthew Cuthbert
R. H. Thomson gives an endearing performance as Matthew Cuthbert, bringing to life the "odd-looking personage" who brings Anne to the first home she has ever known.
Thomson's slightly awkward, slightly clumsy movements match Montgomery's ungainly, stooping Matthew (Exhibit A: carrying baby Delphine around the Green Gables farm and introducing her to the animals). However, Matthew's hair is supposed to be a little more grey than brown, and reach his shoulders. He also lacks the brown beard he's had since the age of twenty.
8 Marilla Cuthbert
Marilla in the series looks pretty much the way she's supposed to: tall, thin, "with angles and without curves", her dark hair streaked with gray and "always twisted up in a hard little knot behind with two wire hairpins stuck aggressively through it".
Beyond her physical appearance, Geraldine James' performance adds a layer of wistfulness and loss to the character, while Montgomery describes her as looking "like a woman of narrow experience and rigid conscience, which she was". However, her layered performance is in keeping with the more detailed backstory Marilla gets in the 2017 adaptation.
7 Gilbert Blythe
Gilbert is first introduced to readers of Montgomery's books as a "tall boy, with curly brown hair, roguish hazel eyes, and a mouth twisted into a teasing smile". He is popular with the Avonlea girls because they think he's "dreamy", as Diana says in Anne With An E.
Lucas Zumman's Gilbert fits Montgomery's description almost perfectly, right down to his hazel eyes. However, in the series, Gilbert's backstory is much darker than in the books. Though he retains some of his boyish qualities, the Gilbert of Anne With An E is mature and serious more than he is teasing or roguish.
6 Miss Stacy
In the books, when Anne first sees Miss Stacy, she is most impressed that her puff sleeves are "bigger than anybody else's". This is at odds with the series' Miss Stacy, who seems not to care whether she dresses as "beautifully" as she does in the books.
Avonlea is shocked that she doesn't wear corsets (and encourages others like Mrs. Lynde to forego them), especially when they are at the height of fashion - and propriety. She has, according to Montgomery's Anne, the "loveliest fair curly hair" and "fascinating eyes". In the series, her hair is indeed fair and curly. On the right is Miss Stacy of the 1979 Japanese TV series Anne of Green Gables.
5 Ruby Gillis
In the books, Ruby is considered to be one of Avonlea's most beautiful girls, with long golden hair, "brilliant" bright blue eyes, and a "lustrous" shine in her features that makes her "the handsomest girl of the year" (her beauty is further accentuated when she becomes sick). This is depicted in Roni-Art's illustration.
Kyla Matthews gives an authentic performance as Ruby in Anne With An E. Her Ruby is just as concerned with the number of "beaus" she has as the original Ruby is. Yet Matthews' Ruby retains a sense of innocence and purity, which is at odds with Montgomery's descriptions. Her shyness is reflected in her appearance, which gives her appearance a childlike quality.
4 Jane Andrews
Jane (yellow dress) doesn't get much screen time in the series, but in the books, she is one of Anne's closest friends. Despite this, the girls don't share the same views on everything, such as methods of teaching and discipline, matrimony and romance, and style. On the right is a depiction of Jane by "reesespieces" on DeviantArt.
Anne sees Jane as "neat and sensible and plain", and this is reflected in most of her words, actions, and fashion choices. Lia Pappas-Kemps shares Jane's brown hair. She imbues Jane with a matter-of-fact manner of speech and reflects her frank views on women's roles in marriage.
3 Billy Andrews
Billy isn't mentioned much in the books, except when Jane proposes to Anne on his behalf (she refuses, of course), but in the series, he's a bully, an abuser, and takes any opportunity to boast (often about his hockey skills). His physical appearance bears no resemblance to the original Billy, either.
The books describe Billy as "a fat, round-faced, amiable fellow ... with a round, expressionless face". In the Netflix series, Billy is a recurring character, but he can't be described as amiable. Christian Martyn's Billy is athletic and often seen fighting either with his fists, his privilege, or his words. On the right is Billy from the 1979 Japanese TV series.
2 Prissy Andrews
In the Netflix series, Prissy's curly brown hair matches the description in the books. Other than that, she's mostly described as beautiful and elegant, as she is in Anne With An E, but only after returning from college. On the right is an earlier interpretation of Prissy in Kevin Sullivan's 1985 film adaptation, in which the character isn't fleshed out as much.
Prissy Andrews is granted more room for growth in Anne With An E than she is in the original story. In the show, after Mr. Phillips moves away, Prissy goes to college and returns with an air of wisdom and maturity. When she is first introduced, she's coquettish and not mature enough to seem elegant. But after her return, she stands up to her family with elegance and joins her Avonlea friends in the fight for gender equality.
1 Moody Spurgeon
The Moody of Anne With An E looks a lot like the book version of himself, with his round face and apparently notable ears, which are described as "objectionable" by Montgomery. On the right is Moody from the earlier Japanese TV series adaptation.
He isn't a very important character in the original story, but he gets a recurring role in the series. According to the books, Moody should have small blue eyes, but otherwise, his appearance is accurate to the original. Admittedly, his ears often do seem to stick "out like flaps". He's also supposed to be "funny-looking", but again, subjective, as are all ideals of physical beauty, as the Anne stories highlight.
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