Anne of Green Gables
Aunt Josephine Barry
Diana's great-aunt
A wealthy, sharp-tongued old woman from Charlottetown who is outraged by Anne and then captivated by her.
Aunt Josephine is Diana's wealthy great-aunt, an imposing woman with snow-white hair, sharp black eyes, spectacles on a chain, and a silver-topped cane. She is cynical and easily bored, and she is quite used to getting her own way.
She is the opposite of the girls who dare each other to jump onto feather beds. She expects an elderly woman to be able to sleep without being landed on. But under the formidable surface she responds to real originality, and Anne has plenty of that.
“Well! You are certainly the most extraordinary child I have ever encountered.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
While visiting the Barrys, Aunt Josephine is asleep in the spare bed when Anne and Diana leap onto it in the dark. She is furious and demands to know who has assaulted her in her sleep. Anne, brave, goes to apologize in person, explains that it was her fault and not Diana's, and makes her laugh. Josephine says she is the most extraordinary child she has met.
She becomes Anne's friend and benefactor. She invites Anne and Diana to her mansion, Beechwood, in Charlottetown, for the Exhibition, a concert, and all the ice cream they can eat. The week shows Anne that she loves simple Green Gables best.
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