Priscilla "Prissy" Andrews is a minor character in the Canadian television series "Anne with an E." She is the eldest child in the Andrews family, being the older sister of Jane and Billy Andrews.
Appearance and Personality[]
Prissy is a tall woman with golden hair and a pale complexion. She comes out as intelligent and naturally pleasant to everyone. She demonstrates her intelligence when she asks her father, Mr. Andrews, to think about preventing her younger brother Billy Andrews from having a financial stake in their businesses due to his lack of intelligence. Prissy presents a compelling case for taking over the family business, but she is inevitably turned down for the role because of her status and gender.
Story[]
A few years older than the rest of her classmates, Prissy is first introduced as a beautiful and intelligent woman who cherishes her relationships with family and friends. She constantly makes eye contact with her teacher, Mr. Phillips, in Season 1, which causes tension between them. Diana and Anne soon discover that Mr. Phillips is Prissy's secret lover when they spot the two of them together in the broom closet at their school. As soon as they see this, Anne and Diana tell their girl classmates what they see. Unaware that her words are inappropriate, Anne engages in some sexual remarks, saying that Prissy "must be touching the mouse in his front pocket."
When Prissy discovers this, she is devastated and ashamed that she has been caught having an affair with her teacher. Her brother Billy confronts Anne about her crude remarks the following day on her way to school. He tells her that Prissy has been crying all night. He continues asking Anne whether she likes creating foul rumours about his family. Gilbert Blythe, fortunately, was returning to school that day after having been absent for some time, and stops Billy from harming Anne, asking him what game he is playing with the red-head. Billy wanders off to school after that encounter.
After the news of Prissy's relationship with Mr. Phillips is revealed, she averts her gaze from Mr. Phillips during school and expresses embarrassment at being associated with him. Eventually, Mr. Phillips decides to marry Prissy, and asks her father for her hand in marriage. Mr. Andrews allows it, and Prissy is overjoyed that her parents are accepting of her relationship with Mr. Phillips, despite the scandal that revolved around them.
While Prissy's mother brushes her hair one day, she sadly states that she had believed Prissy would be the first woman in their family to one day pursue a higher education, a basic right which a few women of the time had been fighting for. She expresses her concern for her daughter as she states an early marriage with Mr. Phillips may prevent her from seeking further education. Prissy strongly dismisses the idea, saying it is up to her and that she can attend college after getting married. However, Prissy starts having second thoughts when Mr. Phillips tells her he expects her to give her all to be his wife. When Prissy hears her school friends' remarks on her wedding day regarding the desire for a joyful and equal partnership in marriage, she knows that Mr. Phillips is not the man for her.
On the day of her wedding, Prissy is being walked to the altar where Mr. Phillips is waiting for his soon-to-be wife. She shares looks with her peers, smiling at them. When she locks eyes with her mother and sees her bittersweet smile, Prissy is once again plagued with second thoughts of marrying her teacher. She remembers that she is a woman that wants to have the freedom to pursue whatever she wants in life and realizes that marrying Mr. Phillips will prevent her from receiving an education because he wants her to be his wife and settle down with him in Toronto. As Prissy stands in front of Mr. Phillips and meets his eyes, she drops her bouquet of flowers and runs out of the hall, leaving Mr. Phillips dumbfounded at the altar. She runs out into the fresh snow, and Anne and Diana soon follow her along with the rest of the school girls. They surround her and express their worry for Prissy, but shockingly, she starts laughing and exclaims that she is free. The girls happily play in the snow, relishing in their youth.
Prissy continues to go to school with Muriel Stacy, the new teacher, after leaving Mr. Phillips at the altar. However, she feels ashamed when Anne reveals the public knowledge to Miss Stacy that Prissy ran away from her wedding. Eventually, Prissy graduates from the Avonlea school and enrolls in Queen's Academy in Charlottetown for college. Prissy's mother had hoped that her experience at college would help her become independent-thinking, but Prissy has also started to see how women's potential in society has been restricted through Avonlea's social customs. When Prissy returns to Avonlea for the county fair, she shares Jane's disappointment that Josie Pye is going to marry their brother Billy.
Even though she does not personally like Josie, she exposes the hypocrisy of her family's defense of her reputation while criticizing Josie in the aftermath of Billy's rumors that have damaged Josie's reputation. She tells Billy straight out that only he can make things right for Josie. Recognizing Billy's incompetence as the family's business leader, Prissy reveals her strategy to manage the family's businesses as Billy's partner. However, because he thinks it is improper for women to engage in business and would rather watch Billy lose it, Prissy's father rejects her idea. Prissy's father also refuses to give her the dowry when she says she doesn't intend to be married anytime soon and says he would only give it to her when she marries a man of his choosing.
Later, Prissy joins Anne in the town hall demonstration against censorship, determined to stand up for what is right, after being let down by her family's decision to stick with the norm.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
Episode Appearances[]
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