Philippa Gordon

Philippa Blake (nee Gordon) was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon, the wife of Jonas Blake and also friend of Anne Shirley.

Early life
Philippa was born in 1865 in Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia, to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon. She was raised in their house Mount Holly. In September 1871, at the age of six, Philippa attended Bolingbroke school. She was so popular in the school and had many friends and beaus.

Philippa was early on known as a 'beauty'. Possessor of a bewitching smile and beautiful brown eyes (and she knew she was pretty, too!), Philippa was known for having many 'beaux'. However, she did not consider these 'beaux' seriously, and rather looked on them as playfellows.

Redmond College
Prone to indecision, it was a wonder that Philippa ever decided to attend the prestigious Redmond College in Kingsport. Her father had decided for her however, and his decision was finally seconded by Philippa, who did not want to marry yet. Not that she did not have many choices, though. Philippa had managed to narrow down her beaux to two rich young men, Alec and Alonzo, who lived in Bolingbroke. She did, however, have affections for Gilbert Blythe, and was shocked that Anne would have refused his proposal. (The first time.)  Even at Redmond, 'Phil' led an extremely sociable life from the first year onward. As her friends, Anne and Priscilla were immediately drawn into circles they would not have managed to make it into without Phil's beauty and fame at Redmond.

It was well known that Philippa entertained callers nearly every evening, therefore, it was surprising that she should be able to have such high grades. She was head of every class (due to her 'heaps of brains'), excepting English: where Anne pulled far ahead.

Marriage
Phil was extremely extravagant. "Honey, can you imagine me as the wife of a poor man?" She once said. Thus, she deemed it necessary to marry a rich man. In her eyes, the only two men she could possibly ever marry were Alec and Alonzo, back home in Bolingbroke. That is, until she met Jonas Blake at a boarding house during summer vacation. Despite his extreme ugliness, Jonas was an outstanding minister. However, his hopes and plans for the future were to live in the slums and preach to the people there.

Though her mother was scandalized at first, Phil was determined to marry her Jonas—as soon as he asked her. Her father gave her no grief over the matter, owing to the fact that there 'was a soft spot in his heart' because 'his daddy was a minister'. Philippa loved Jonas, and the couple had two sons, later to fight in the World War I.

Personality
Philippa was a lively personage, infamous for her indecision, and loved wherever she went due to her extreme beauty, mirth and comicality.

Etymology
Philippa is a female given name of Greek origin and means horse lover. This name was used mainly in 19th century.

Behind the scenes

 * Sabina Franklyn portrayed Philippa in two episodes of 1975 TV series Anne of Avonlea.

Book appearances

 * Anne of the Island
 * Anne's House of Dreams
 * Anne of Ingleside (mentioned only)
 * Rilla of Ingleside (mentioned only)

TV series appearances

 * Anne of Avonlea (1975)