Though edited, Sir Gibbie looked imposing and a little boring when my aunt and uncle gave it to me years ago. However, once I started reading, I fell in love with the story, finishing it in four days. The pictures were not the best, but I had matured to the age when I knew that you cannot judge a book by its cover or by its illustrations.
Sir Gibbie is the son of the impoverished Sir George Galbraith. Gibbie’s mother is dead, and his father is slowly killing himself with alcohol purchased in Mistress Croale's whisky parlor. They live in a tiny attic in the Old House of Galbraith, which was sold to pay the family’s debts. Gibbie is a tender, loving boy but, sadly, he is unable to speak. He communicates with the people of the Scottish town through smiles and kind actions.
When Sir George dies, Gibbie leaves the town, wandering through the Scottish countryside. He finally arrives at the Glashgar highlands. He takes refuge in a barn, helping the lady of the house secretly each morning before the house awakes. The barn is located at the Mains of Glashruach, leased by John Duff, and the lady is Jean Mavor, John Duff's half-sister. She believes a brownie (Scottish fairy) is working the daily magic.
When Sir George dies, Gibbie leaves the town, wandering through the Scottish countryside. He finally arrives at the Glashgar highlands. He takes refuge in a barn, helping the lady of the house secretly each morning before the house awakes. The barn is located at the Mains of Glashruach, leased by John Duff, and the lady is Jean Mavor, John Duff's half-sister. She believes a brownie (Scottish fairy) is working the daily magic.
On Glashgar Peak, Gibbie meets Janet Grant, a wife and mother with the child-like faith that Jesus praised in the Gospel of Matthew: “And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3 NIV) Gibbie also befriends Donal Grant, Janet’s son, who works as a herdsman for the Lord of Glashruach. Donal reads and writes his own poetry. He and Gibbie become best friends.
The news of Jean Mavor’s brownie greatly disturbs the Lord of Glashruach, Thomas Galbraith, a greedy, pompous, cowardly man. He dislikes anything relating to magic and myth. He orders Fergus Duff (John Duff’s son) to capture the person who is secretly helping Jean and to prove to everyone – especially Mr. Galbraith’s daughter, Ginevra – that brownies are not real.
Poor Gibbie is apprehended. Fergus beats him, then takes him to Mr. Galbraith. No one understands that Gibbie cannot speak. Thus they make the erroneous mistake of assuming that he won’t speak. Mr. Galbraith sends Gibbie and one of his workers, Angus MacPholp, to the coach-house, with orders for Angus to whip Gibbie. Fergus strips the boy of his shirt and lays the whip to his back twice: first across his waist and then vertically down his back. He is about to strike again when Ginevra rushes into the coach-house and rescues Gibbie. Gibbie escapes to Janet Grant’s house. Janet and her husband Robert adopt Gibbie, and he lives with them and becomes like a brother to Donal. Gibbie enjoys many happy years in Glashruach, and he might have spent the rest of his life quietly and happily with his new family. However, someone is searching for him.
After Gibbie had left the town of his birth, the local pastor, Rev. Sclater, learns that Gibbie is heir to a large fortune from his uncle, Mr. William Fuller Winthrop. Rev. Sclater offers a 100 pound reward for information concerning the whereabouts of Gibbie Galbraith. During a terrible flood, an old friend arrives in Glashruach searching for Gibbie. The friend sees him and, in the turmoil, travels to the city to give Rev. Sclater the news of Gibbie’s whereabouts.
Rev. Sclater comes to Glashgar and convinces Gibbie to return to the city with him and begin his education as a wealthy gentleman. Gibbie leaves, but only on the condition that Donal Grant may come too and share the benefits of a higher education. The two boys leave their simple lives behind at Glashgar, preparing for the new life that awaits them in the city, little knowing that Ginevra will also be leaving for the city and school, too.
The beauty of Sir Gibbie is in its delightful, charming characters. Most of them are poorly educated farm-folk, but they are honest and sincere. The villain, the selfish Mr. Galbraith, is rather like a Dickens character. He is slightly unbelievable because he is unimaginably selfish and narrow-minded.
The character of Sir Gibbie is worth a great deal of study: a mute boy with a face like an angel’s, overflowing with kindness and unselfishness. He is truly the opposite of Mr. Galbraith. Gibbie is integrity itself. The life of prosperity does not spoil him; he does not really change: he is the same person at the end of the story as he is in the beginning. Those who change are the people who live around him. They change because of his loving, gentle influence.
I used to think that Gibbie was a slightly unrealistic character. He was too good to be true. His goodness did not irritate me or hinder the book, but I knew there was really no one truly like him. Then I read a book that changed my mind. It was a book that explained how literature professors view plots and characters. Through this book I realized that Gibbie isn’t exactly to be taken as your average character. Actually, he is an allegorical character: the Christ-figure of the story. It is always exciting to make a discovery, and now I’m surprised I didn’t realize it sooner. When Angus whips Gibbie, he whips him across the waist and down his back. It is the shape of the Cross.
Like Jesus, Gibbie walks on earth, living true Christianity, a kind not practiced even by the churchgoers and the pastor. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 NIV
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