Anne of Green Gables
Josie Pye
The schoolgirl rival
A sharp-tongued classmate who dares Anne into trouble.
Josie Pye is a sharp-featured girl with sleek blonde hair, cat-like brown eyes, and a haughty smirk. She is spiteful, critical, and competitive, and she is a member of the notoriously difficult Pye family. She is the person in the schoolyard most likely to say something cutting.
She is jealous of Anne's popularity and loves to see her fail. She does not plan anything dramatic. She simply knows that Anne cannot resist a dare, and she says the words that set the next disaster in motion.
“I dare you to walk the ridgepole of Mr. Barry's roof, Anne Shirley!”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
At a gathering of school friends at Diana's home, Josie dares Anne to walk the ridgepole of Mr. Barry's kitchen roof. Diana begs Anne not to, but Anne decides that Anne Shirley never backs down from a dare. She climbs up, starts walking, loses her balance, and falls.
Anne breaks her ankle and is carried home by Matthew. Josie's dare costs Anne weeks in bed, though Anne insists that her honor was at stake. This is Josie's main moment in the book.
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