Anne of Green Gables
Diana Barry
Anne's bosom friend
Sweet, loyal, and rosy-cheeked, Diana is the neighbor girl Anne has always dreamed of as her bosom friend.
Diana lives at Orchard Slope next door, a pretty girl with shining black ringlets, dark eyes, and a cheerful, affectionate nature. She is conventional where Anne is wild, and she is easily impressed by Anne's imagination. She tends to follow Anne's lead, but she is brave when it matters.
Anne asks within minutes of meeting her whether she could be a bosom friend, and Diana agrees. The two swear a solemn oath of friendship beside the garden spring. Diana's mother is strict, so Diana's loyalty is sometimes tested by what she is allowed to do. She is a fixture in nearly every scene of Anne's girlhood, from tea parties to sleepovers to sharing lessons while Anne is laid up in bed.
“Never! I could never love another bosom friend as I love you!”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
After Diana drinks three glasses of what she thinks is raspberry cordial and is actually currant wine, Mrs. Barry forbids the girls to play together, and they part tearfully, clipping locks of hair as keepsakes. Months later Diana runs to Green Gables because her little sister Minnie May has croup.
Anne saves the baby, Mrs. Barry apologizes, and the friendship is restored. Diana stays Anne's closest friend through the pranks, the dares, and a week of luxury at Aunt Josephine's mansion in Charlottetown. She is the one who bursts in with the news that Anne has passed the Queen's exams.
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