How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Yes, it's red," she said resignedly. "Now you see why I can't be perfectly happy. Nobody could who had red hair. I don't mind the other things so much—the freckles and the green eyes and my skinniness. I can imagine them away. I can imagine that I have a beautiful rose leaf complexion and lovely starry violet eyes. But I cannot imagine that red hair away. I do my best. I think to myself, "Now my hair is a glorious black, black as the raven's wing." But all the time I know it is just plain red, and it breaks my heart. It will be my lifelong sorrow." (2.39)
Like many other speeches Anne makes about her hair, this one has the over-the-top language of tragedy. So it is laughable. Especially because there are so many legit tragedies in Anne's life, but she chooses her hair to be her lifelong sorrow. But she's also getting at that difference between how we imagine ourselves verses how we actually look. Anne's definitely not the only person who has been bothered by that difference.
Quote #2
"Mrs. Thomas said I was the homeliest baby she ever saw, I was so scrawny and tiny and nothing but eyes, but that mother thought I was perfectly beautiful. I should think that a mother would be a better judge than a poor woman who came in to scrub, wouldn't you? I'm glad she was satisfied with me anyhow; I would feel so sad if I thought I was a disappointment to her—because she didn't live very long after that, you see." (5.14)
This quote might get at the root of why Anne gets so angry when people insult her looks. Mrs. Thomas raised Anne from a baby, so Anne's been told she was ugly for her entire life. Not cool, Mrs. Thomas. The only idea Anne has to comfort her is that her mother thought she was beautiful before she died.
Quote #3
During Marilla's speech a sunrise had been dawning on Anne's face. First the look of despair faded out; then came a faint flush of hope; her eyes grew deep and bright as morning stars. (6.21)
Anne's hair and freckles may not be pretty by the beauty standards of her day, but here we see how she glows when she's happy or excited. Those expressions are beautiful.