Ella and her foster children Marie Pavlovna and Dmitri

[darius]

Some very frustrating posts on this thread by people or persons determined to blur fiction, surmise and fantasy.  Absolutely futile!  Let´s take the historical evidence as it is.  Family dominated by a strong mother and a weaker father.  A desparately ill son and heir and a troubling political situation.  Four daughters on the cusp of adulthood discovering the world as best they could.  From all accounts family life was of a high quality with good interaction between all members and the normal teenage frustrations etc.  Had Olga A. wished to escape she would have found ways and means.  But no, the loving family unit stayed together to the very bitter end.

[grandduchessella]

Stay on topic, please. Any further comments about OTMA should be taken to the appropriate threads. Only direct comparisons between their situation and that of Marie & Dmitri are appropriate for this thread. Thank you.

As for Eric's comment--is it the distinction between a nanny and a governess? I don't know enough about the daily workings of Serge & Ella's household to know the names of who may have served in these roles for Marie but it was usually 2 different people as the charge aged. He mentions she had an English nanny from Charlotte Z's book but did she also have a governess? I would presume so given the time and her status.

I did find this bit online: " Later she had another governess, mademoiselle Hélène who taught her French and stayed with her until her marriage."

Re: Dmitri & Elizabeth: " Dmitri was terrified that he would be sent back to live with his father, Elizabeth wrote. "Dmitri simply sobs and clings to me," she wrote. "His intense fright was the idea of having to leave me. He decided he must watch over me as Uncle is no more and clings to me to such a degree that the arrival of his father was more an anguish than a pleasure, the intense fear he would take him."" This from Hugo Mager's book on Elizabeth.

[Captain Koala]

Can I ask a question and i don't know if it's been covered before and I don;t want to cause offense, but after reading MP Jnr's books i kinda get the feeling she may have been a lesbian?

[grandduchessella]

I don't know if she was a lesbian but her words and actions denote an almost hostile attitude towards men. I don't think one needs to be a psychiatrist to trace most of this back to her relationship with her father. Her brother Dimitri was pretty much the only person, male or female, she really seemed to love. So I think it was more of a psychological issue rather than a sexual orientation one--she seems asexual more than anything.

[Kalafrana]

I'm not sure that her actions show hostility to men, as distinct from an inability to form lasting relationships with them. After all, she married Sergei Putiatin from choice.

I would agree, however, that her father's actions were at the root of her problems.

Ann

[grandduchessella]

I said almost hostile because it wasn't quite to that level but she seemed to have a pretty contemptuous attitude towards them based on her writings and actions.

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes. She was only nice to her son & brother.

[LisaDavidson]

That's a pretty broad generalization. Most historians agree that Maria P. loved her brother Dmitri more than anyone else throughout her life. Her relationship with her son Lennart was a bit different, as they did not become close until later in her life. As a royal, MP was raised to behave properly so she was probably what we would consider "nice" to a good many people. For example, she looked after her parents in law, the Putiatins, for many years after her divorce from their son, something she was not obliged to do.

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes. Although it seems none of her marriages last nor was she close to her ex-husbands after they divorce. I think a bit of abandonment issues after her father left (bit like Diana). But while Diana bonded with her sons, Marie didn't until much later.

[Kalafrana]

In those days divorce was a major step, so it would be a contradiction in terms for a person to divorce and then be close to her ex-husbands!

Interesting that she was on good terms with Serge Putiatin's parents, and provided for them.

Ann

[Eric_Lowe]

Well...Marie's Swedish Royal father-in-law did not abandon her either. He rescued her financially when she cannot pay her bills.