Summary

• "Girls Can Do Anything A Boy Can Do, And More!" - Anne's determination to prove herself and challenge gender norms is an inspiring theme throughout the show.
• "Dreamers Change The World." - Ms. Stacy encourages her students to use their imaginations and believes that dreamers are the ones who can make a difference and create progress.
• "Different Isn't Bad; It's Just Not The Same." - Anne learns to accept and embrace her own uniqueness, realizing that being different doesn't mean something is wrong.

Selecting the best Anne With An E quotes 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. 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. While the show may be canceled, these Anne With An E quotes will never be forgotten and will continue to inspire the show's devoted audience.

20 "Girls Can Do Anything A Boy Can Do, And More!"

Anne - Season 1, Episode 1 “Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny”

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.

Anne's assistance on being helpful to the Cuthberts is straight out of the novels that provide the source material for the show. Her persistence modernizes the show a bit, however, as Anne doesn't allow anyone to put her down simply because she's a girl.

19 “Dreamers Change The World.”

Ms. Stacy - Season 2, Episode 10 “The Growing Good Of The World”

When Ms. Stacy comes to Avonlea in season 2 of Anne With An E, the students love her, but the adults are not so keen on her teaching methods. She encourages the children in her class to experiment and participate in her demonstrations. She encourages her students to use their imaginations. That is precisely what gets her into trouble.

Despite that, Ms. Stacy insists that a healthy imagination and a natural curiosity are good things. She insists that “dreamers change the world” because dreamers are the very people who invent new pieces of technology and create progress for small towns like Avonlea. Dreamers are the ones who can make the world better, and Ms. Stacy doesn’t appreciate that the old-fashioned adults in Avonlea can’t see that in their children.

18 “Tell Me, And I Forget. Teach Me, And I Remember. Involve Me, And I Learn.”

Anne - Season 2, Episode 10 “The Growing Good Of The World”

In the same Anne With An E episode in which Ms. Stacy’s job is threatened and she insists on dreamers changing the world, Anne is the one who rallies the other students in her class to defend her. Anne loves Ms. Stacy’s teaching style and she wants the adults in town to appreciate it as well so that Ms. Stacy doesn’t have to leave.

When Anne leads the other students in a demonstration powering light bulbs with potatoes, these are the words she uses in her speech to those gathered at the town meeting. Her demonstration and her words catch the attention of those gathered, and they’re certainly memorable for the audience. Anne’s line here is one of the most memorable Anne With An E quotes because it speaks to the love of learning that the series encourages.

17 “The Only Thing To Do Now Is To Wait.”

Rachel - Season 1, Episode 2 “I Am No Bird, And No Net Ensnares Me”

Waiting can be a difficult idea for someone, and Rachel’s words might not seem particularly inspiring at first. They are, however, important. In the second episode of the series, Anne runs away, pretending to go back to the orphanage when Marilla accuses her of stealing something. Matthew tries to track her down when Marilla finds that she is mistaken.

Marilla gets upset when Matthew and Anne are not back the next morning, and she wants to set out to find them herself, but it’s Rachel who stops her. Rachel is the voice of reason. There are already multiple people looking for Anne (her husband set out after Matthew), and adding Marilla to the mix just means that they could get in one another’s way and that no one would be at Green Gables when she returns. Waiting is exactly what Marilla needs to do, even though it’s difficult, and that can be true in other similar situations in real life.

16 “The Best Part Of Knowing The Rules Is Finding Acceptable Ways Of Breaking Them.”

Winifred - Season 3, Episode 2 “There Is Something At Work In My Soul Which I Do Not Understand”

Winifred Rose is not a fan-favorite character simply because she’s an obstacle to Anne and Gilbert getting together in the third season of the show. That being said, Winifred still has a great Anne With An E quote or two. She’s a very intelligent young woman, working as an assistant to a doctor when Gilbert meets her, and she has no problem speaking her mind with him in the same way that Anne does.

Her line here is something that appeals to Gilbert, and would likely appeal to Anne as well. Both Gilbert and Anne are driven by their thirst for knowledge (though in different fields), and they both think outside the box to achieve their goals. The idea of learning rules in order to bend or break them is something that all of these characters have in common.

15 “Sound Journalism Must Defend The Voiceless, Not Send Them Further Into Silence.”

Ms. Stacy - Season 3, Episode 7 “A Strong Effort In The Spirit Of Good”

When Anne writes an editorial about the treatment of Josie by Billy at a town event, she has good intentions. She wants to speak on Josie’s behalf. The trouble is that Josie doesn’t want to become the center of attention in town. She doesn’t want everyone to see her as someone affected by Billy’s assault.

Ms. Stacy has to tread carefully when talking to Anne about the article she writes. While she applauds Anne’s efforts to give a voice to a young woman treated badly, she also points out that by writing about Josie the way she has, Anne has forced Josie to retreat further into herself. Josie becomes more afraid of what people in town think of her, or how she’ll be treated, and more angry with Anne. Writing about Josie without her permission and without allowing Josie to tell her story her way means that Anne is silencing her as well, something Anne has to learn.

14 "A Skirt Is Not An Invitation!"

Anne - Season 2, Episode 5 “The Determining Acts Of Her Life”

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. Anne With An E attempts to give the young women in the series, like Anne herself, modern sensibilities, while acknowledging the unfairness of the way they're treated.

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

Anne - Season 3, Episode 7 “A Strong Effort Of The Spirit Of Good”

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. Ms. 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, as this Anne With An E quote reminds them.

12 "Different Isn't Bad; It's Just Not The Same."

Anne - Season 2, Episode 10 “The Growing Good Of The World”

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 unwelcome 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 she has much 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.

This particular Anne With An E quote, however, isn't about Anne accepting her own differences, but said about Ms. Stacy's teaching style. Anne, along with most of her classmates, stands up for their new teacher when the town disapproves of her.

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

Anne - Season 3, Episode 1 “A Secret Which I Desired To Divine”

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.

This is one of several Anne With An E quotes that give a sign that Anne is growing up. That's certainly a theme throughout Season 3. Anne comes to the end of her schooling in the season and has the opportunity to leave Avonlea for college.

10 "I Reckon Every New Idea Was Modern Once — Until It Wasn't."

Matthew - Season 1, Episode 3 “But What Is So Headstrong As Youth?”

Fan favorite Matthew Cuthbert makes the astute observation that all the ideas that seem so scandalous and challenging to people in their current day may actually become normal in the future. Despite Matthew's shy nature, he tends to be one of the most progressive people in Avonlea. He supports Anne's unorthodox nature and isn't usually alarmed when things start to change.

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 - Season 2, Episode 10 “The Growing Good Of The World”

Diana is shocked when she learns that Aunt Jo, one of Anne With An E'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. This is one of the Anne With An E quotes that allows Diana a moment of realization.

It takes a little time for her to speak with her aunt. 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. Diana admitting to Aunt Jo that she realizes how much she still has to learn is what sets Diana on her path to make her own decisions instead of following the path set before her by her parents.

8 "It's Not What We Get Out Of Life, But What We Put Into It."

Anne - Season 2, Episode 10 “The Growing Good Of The World”

In a pivotal moment of their close friendship, Anne reminds Cole MacKenzie 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. It's a moment when Cole thinks all hope about his future is lost.

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. Cole being able to put his own art into the world is exactly what Aunt Josephine advocates for, and why the two get along so well. Aunt Jo is able to make a home for him that allows Cole to live out Anne's words.

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

Anne - Season 3, Episode 1 “A Secret Which I Desired To Divine”

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. Their commonalities provide a storyline throughout Season 3 that helps to open Marilla and Matthew's eyes to the world around them as well.

6 "Tomorrow Is Always Fresh With No Mistakes In It."

Lucy Maud Montgomery - Anne Of Green Gables

Though this quote is often attributed to Anne With An E, it actually comes from Lucy Maud Montgomery's novel, not the series. While there are many lines of dialogue lifted from the books first, this isn't one of them. It does, however, fit right in with the themes of the show.

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."

Anne - Season 3, Episode 7 “A Strong Effort Of The Spirit Of Good”

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. It's something that Josie needs to hear, despite Josie never agreeing with Anne about anything. When Josie faces the wrath of others after Billy takes advantage of her, she only sees herself as someone's potential wife with a damaged reputation.

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. It takes Josie longer to understand that since she's always driven the school gossip.

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

Cole - Season 2, Episode 10 “The Growing Good Of The World”

Cole expresses this powerful Anne With An E quote 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 MacKenzie 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 - Season 2, Episode 7 “Memory Has As Many Moods As The Temper”

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 and many of the best Anne With An E quotes reflect ideas about love. 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 she builds an unconventional family with them, despite the derision of some of the townsfolk.

Aunt Jo is another example of a character judged for her life choices, even though she spent her life living with someone she loved. Though Anne doesn't tell others that Aunt Jo spent most of her life in a relationship with a woman, her question about a life with love is posed to Marilla and others, and no one doubts Anne's conclusions.

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

Aunt Josephine - Season 1, Episode 6 “Remorse Is The Poison Of Life”

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.

This Anne With An E quote from Aunt Jo becomes even more poignant later in the show when it's revealed how hard it is for Aunt Jo to open up to others. She's raised, much like Diana, to keep her emotions in check, and only embraces them later in life when she begins her relationship with Gertrude.

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

Anne - Season 3, Episode 2 “There Is Something At Work In My Soul Which I Do Not Understand”

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 as frightening and unsurmountable as the mind would make them seem. Many of Anne's quotes, like this one, speak to Anne's journey from a place of fear and loneliness to a life of love in Anne With An E.