Anne of Green Gables
Mr. Phillips
The schoolmaster
Anne's first teacher at Avonlea school, lazy and unfair, who punishes her for the slate incident.
Mr. Phillips is a gangly, unkempt young man with thinning black hair, a thin mustache, and bored eyes. He is lazy, sarcastic, and petty, and he is openly partial to certain students. He recites poetry nicely, which is the best that Diana can say of him.
His classroom is not a place that rewards effort or fairness. He uses shame as a tool, and his authority is arbitrary. For a girl like Anne, who feels everything intensely, he is exactly the wrong teacher, and the school is lucky when Miss Stacy arrives.
“Stand before the blackboard for the rest of the afternoon so all may witness your disgrace.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
On Anne's first day he presides over the classroom while Gilbert tugs Anne's braid. When Anne breaks her slate over Gilbert's head, Mr. Phillips demands to know the meaning of this unladylike violence.
He punishes Anne by making her stand at the blackboard for the rest of the afternoon so everyone may witness her disgrace. Gilbert's apology does not help, and Anne vows never to speak to him again. After this scene he fades from the story, replaced by Miss Stacy.
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