Walter Blythe

Walter Cuthbert Blythe is a fictional character in Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series. He appears as a major character in three books; within the series chronology, they are Anne of Ingleside (book 6, published in 1939), Rainbow Valley (book 7, pub. 1919) and Rilla of Ingleside (book 8, pub. 1921). Walter appears briefly and is also frequently alluded to in the final volume of the series, The Blythes Are Quoted (book 9, completed in 1942 but not published until 2009), in which several of his poems are printed in full and discussed by members of his family. Biography Walter Cuthbert Blythe was the second son of Gilbert and Anne Blythe, and was born in 1893 at their home "Ingleside" in Glen St. Mary, P.E.I., Canada. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Walter Shirley; his middle name honours siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had adopted his mother. Walter had six siblings: eldest sister Joyce (who died soon after she was born), older brother James Matthew (nicknamed "Jem", named after their neighbour Captain Jim from Anne's House Dreams), younger sisters Anne and Diana (named for their mother, Anne, and their mother's adolescent "bosom friend", Diana Barry, and known as "Nan" and "Di" respectively), younger brother Shirley (the family name of his mother); and youngest sister Bertha Marilla (from her maternal grandmother's first name and the late Marilla Cuthbert), also known as "Rilla". Even as a child, Walter loved poetry and aspired to one day become a famous poet. In this, he took after his mother, who also dreamed of being a writer, and who did make at least one professional sale. While of a more sensitive nature than some of his school friends, and occasionally branded a "milksop", Walter was generally respected by his school mates for his intelligence and compassion. He also won some admiration after winning a fight with a school bully (Dan Reese) who had insulted his mother and Faith Meredith (second oldest of the Meredith clan). Walter and his siblings (along with the Meredith children who lived in the neighbouring house) spent many hours playing in a hollow called Rainbow Valley, which was located near Ingleside. It was there that Walter had a prophetic vision of World War I, daydreaming of (and later insisting that he actually saw) a Piper who used the call of his pipe to sweep the children away.