A Tangled Blog

Irish Princess said: "I love Gilbert! (But then, who here doesn't? lol). He never gave up on Anne, no matter how difficult she was. And she made it difficult: for the first five years, she wouldn't even speak to him; for the next four, she wanted to be "just friends"; and then he had to endure two years of a broken heart after she rejected him. But she finally agreed to marry him! It's all very romantic.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid that deep down, I also think it's a little unrealistic. (Please don't throw plum puffs at me!) In real life, I think that Gilbert would have given up on Anne and gotten on with his life. I mean, he could have had any other girl in Avonlea and probably dozens of girls at Redmond. Nevertheless, I'm glad that LMM made him so devoted and faithful. Real life is over-rated; you meet a better class of men in the world of fiction."

adriennelane said: "Is Gilbert realistic? Yes and no. Every once in a while, (and you'll forgive me for quoting Aladdin) but there is a diamond in the ruft. You'll hear a story of someone who loved someone else for years and nothing happened."

rachellyne said: "I believe that Gilbert is realistically written because I have met some men very much like Gilbert. He is definitely written as an ideal and I will agree that there aren't many men like him. In the beginning, I think he saw Anne as a challenge. She was intriguing and mysterious and he just had to get to know her, something struck him to the core about Anne. I know when you are truly devoted to someone you do learn the patience to wait for them. And everyone but Anne knew that deep down she truly loved him. Gilbert saw that and was able to stand back and wait until she came to her senses. Good things come to those who wait, I know this for a fact; if I would have given up the long wait on my husband, my life might not be so good now. So yeah, I guess I am little biased but this is coming from a cynical woman who swore she would never marry because she didn't need a man.

I also appreciated Gilbert's sense of humor and outlook on life. He had some tough challenges to face. He decided to pursue a very different career from his father, definitely a challenging career, had to work hard to pay for college, and made sacrifices along the way. But I believe his humor kept him going through all of it, that and his desire for a certain red-head."

ruby gillis said: "I feel like we never got as much Gilbert as we should have after they were married. I would have liked to have known more about him as a father. We know Di was his "especial favourite" -- that Shirley reminded him of his father -- that he thought Jem had the hands of a born surgeon, but other than that we do not know much about him as a dad."

Irish Princess said: " I agree with you, Ruby. As much as Anne faded into the background in the later books, Gilbert faded even more."

adriennelane said: "What we do see of Gilbert later on shows some fairly decent parenting. When Rilla brought Jims home, he let it be her decision as to whether or not she kept him. Had he forced either side, she wouldn't have responded in the same manner.

I for one, would have loved to know more about how he felt when Joyce died. I can tell he was very proud of Jem when he was born, but not much else. He seemed to worry that Walter was afraid of so many things. He was an indulgent father and gave them plenty of toys and pets.

I admire him a great deal because he had to work so very hard to put himself throught medical school. It would have been so much easier to just be a farmer like his father.

Let us not forget that he gave up the Avonlea school for Anne. I'm sure he could have used the money he used to board at White Sands, but he knew that Anne needed to be at Green Gables. It's quite touching really."

we also know that he was a very successful, popular doctor, both in his medical skills [he "brought Rhoda Allonby back to life"] and many people wanted him at their sickbed because of his charm and charisma. Many people named their children after the good doctor -- perhaps one reason why the Blythe family itself never made yet another namesake for him.

After Green Gables and the sacrifices he makes for Anne there, I think his fight with Anne over Dick Moore is most revealing of his character. While Anne is torn by her feelings for her friends' situation, Gilbert is adamantly professional about giving his patients true and honest medical advice, placing their physical health above all else. His faith in what a healthy human being can do - his faith that Dick Moore might reform were he well - his adherence to the truth, believing that "the truth makes free" - is VERY admirable and manly :D

i also wonder what he was like before he met Anne. he went west with his father for his father's health - i wonder what was wrong, and if the burden of a sick father? - ever influenced him.