Mr. Gibbs and Alexei.

[Damie]

Damie welcome to the forum.You capture the relationsip between Alexie and Gibbes quite well.Was Gibbes obsessed?Yes I think he was,but not in the way that might be implied.Centre of intention you say,bathed in light-that's what it was like.Then darkness when Alexie was ill.Gibbes was by nature lonely I expect ,then he had an important position,intimate contact with famous people,accepted by them,teased by the children.There may be questions over Gibbes sexuality,which could be answered but don't have to be I suppose,but that's got nothing to do with his feelings for his charge.His whole nature was gentle,even his "obsession" was gentle.

Thanks for welcoming to the forum! Thanks also for your insights into Mr Gibbs. I'm happy to agree with them. Btw, I got a chuckle out of Mr. Gilliard's diary entry where he's bemusing over how  the Tsarevich was at the time "8 1/2 years old and doesn't speak a word of French." lol 

[RealAnastasia]

When you read a book, sometimes you learns a great deal more about the author than about the biographied. You'll learn about the author's own ideas, beliefs and -why not- obsessions, if we are using this term...

Modern times are "obsesses" themselves with certain issues and shows how many sick-minded people were disguissed, ready to come out with the most absurd theories in the end of their pens.

Maybe Mr. Gibbes was an homosexual. It doesn't matter to me. But my own perception about his relationships with Alexei is that he loved him as any teacher would love his pupil...and much more when this pupil is a suffering little boy. Gibbes would know about Alexei's illness (maybe he wasn't aware of its name, but he knew for sure that the boy suffered as a result of this illness) and this fact will make his caring for him more devoted, if you likes.

Other important thing to point out is the way the whole Romanov family dissappeared in Ekaterinburg. Gibbes had the certitude that his former pupil had died and this must have been a blow for him. If you are a teacher and knows that one of your pupils not having 14 years old yet, was shot , your heart would be distroyed. Not so rare that in his writings Mr. Gibbes seems to worshippe Alexei Nicholaievich Romanov. If one of my pupils dissappears and I have all the impression that he has been murdered, surely it could happen you think I'm an insane obsessed about him.

RealAnastasia.

[David_Newell]

I think Gibbes was much too much a professional and good man ever to have had such thoughts. I used to teach and I adored my students. It was just that adoration of bright youth and that thirst for knowledge. When you see the lights come on in their eyes, there is nothing like it. You know they have got it.

Let us not judge a wholesome close rrelationship. These children looked upon their tutors as extended family. The tutors gave up everything to stay with their pupils, I know AF trusted them completely. She was no stranger to gay men either and I know it seems a little strange to see her as a tolerant person, but I think she was intuative. She knew who liked not by beauty or dead but by spirit of soul.

I know Gibbes would have been their untill the end if he had been allowed to be. If he was a little bitchy about his colleagues well we all are now and then are we not.

[dmitri]

Yes I think Alexis would have been a special student because of his status and also most teachers show a professional care for their students. I don't see any sign of anything improper at all except in the minds of some who are a bit of a worry themselves.

[Victor]

Dmitri, thank you for your two short sentences which sum up that whole situation quite nicely.

[granduchessmariska]

I just thought I'd include my two cents!

In my opinion, the situation is a lot like the one regarding JM Barrie, the author of Peter Pan.

Mr. Gibbes was, undoubtedly, a good, normal man who appreciated and adored both his position and his pupils. However, I think those people who have mentioned a possible "crush" on Alexei or even possible homosexuality might have a point.

If you have never seen Finding Neverland, I recommend it! It's all about Mr. Barrie's life and how his book, Peter Pan, came to be. He based it off of a young boy named Peter, who he became very, very fond of. He used to spend a lot of time with the boy and his family, playing children's games with him and whatnot. I believe it is well-known that JM Barrie was a homosexual, possibly a pedophile. I haven't read the biography in some time, but I know this is very close to the truth, if it isn't it exactly. This is just to defend the people who brought up this point.

Still, even if Mr. Gibbes was a homosexual or a pedophile, he was still a good man and never stepped out of line. I think he still deserves appreciation for that, at least! He did devote so much time to the family, especially at the end.

[RealAnastasia]

That's a good point. If he was homosexual and pedophile, he never went out of line, nor even tryed to. However, I think that if he could have been homosexual, it's more doubteous he was a pedophile.

I read in FOTR that Demídova had a crush on Gibbs, and she was angry for he was somewhat harsh to her and seemed not to notice that she was interested in him. Nevetheless, the fact he didn't fall Demídova will not confirm his homosexuality, but only that he didn't like her...

RealAnastasia.