Elizabeth is thought to be one of the greatest queens in history. She faced much controversy because of her parents and being a bastard child of King Henry VIII. Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen, starring Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth is a portrayal of the life that was thought to be lead by Queen Elizabeth. The movie shows Elizabeth in the coming months before she becomes queen and her first few years as a ruler. In the movie, Elizabeth is presented as a fun loving young woman who is not bothered by her stance in society as the bastard child of a king. Before Elizabeth finds out that Mary is dying, she fears for her life when she is put in the Tower of London, but knows she needs to remain strong. Mary knows that Elizabeth will soon be queen because she is dying but wants her blessing …show more content…
Mary made court life depressing and most people seemed to walking on eggshells because they did not want to be executed for their faith or other reasons. Mary thinks that Elizabeth will be intimidated by court when she first comes, and she is because of her mother and because many do not think that she is fit for the throne because she is a bastard. Before her coronation, Elizabeth is surrounded by controversy. Many think she should not be queen because she is a bastard and a woman. After her coronation, Elizabeth is unsure of how to run England so she hands most of her decisions to Sir Cecil. He runs a military campaign that is unsuccessful thus leading him to being dismissed. Elizabeth realizes she needs to handle her country and not let there be a middle man. She also faces pressure from other advisors and diplomats to marry and produce an heir. Cecil was prominent in the push for Elizabeth to marry and produce an heir. Sir Walsingham told Elizabeth to do what the prince would do referring to Machiavelli. Walsingham also saw marriage as a way for Elizabeth to seen as a weak
Throughout most of Mary’s life she had a unique relationship with Elizabeth Queen of England.
In her speech to Parliament in 1559, she claims that she has already been married to England (Document 7). This means that she will take care of England like a dutiful wife would care for her husband. However, because it was published after her death, the purpose of this document was to explain the legacy of Queen Elizabeth, and how great of a ruler she was despite being a woman. Another response to views on women in leadership was the execution of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, due to the threat Elizabeth felt from Mary in an attempt of assassination. This shows how Elizabeth is able to make the most difficult decisions, which is a skill required to have when ruling over a nation. One must also note that women were viewed as weak emotional human beings. But Elizabeth showed that she was not weak by executing her family member and thus, shows her sense of duty to her kingdom. Another example of a positive response was at the start of her reign, when England was on the verge of bankruptcy, due to the financial destruction caused by the previous Tudor reigns. Nonetheless, she managed to make England debt-free, proving that she had the capability of dealing with difficult monetary tasks and therefore, responded to the opinions of women not being able to rule successfully. Finally, before the invasion of the
Back in the Middle Ages, rulers of many country were men and/or boys. For a women to be in power was usually a last resort. Elizabeth I fell under this situation and became the Queen of England. As people have regarded females, many disliked the idea of a women becoming the leader of England which has forced Elizabeth to use her power and authority to assert her position whereas people who have accepted Queen Elizabeth I has allowed her to act kind, sympathetic, and proud. Majority of the people during the time period were misogyny
Most of the public, especially the religious ones, thought that Elizabeth should have had a husband, and she was completely against this concept because she knows how corruptive a man can be towards a woman’s life (examples in her father and in her cousin’s relationship). Elizabeth, knowing that a man would take over and leave her behind, stayed unmarried. She believed that the only marriage she considered to be true was that of hers to England. (Document 11) When the Spanish Armada invaded England, her subjects were sure she was able to take good care of the country. In her speech to the English army, she says that they (her country and herself) will
Many of her subjects disapproved of Elizabeth not having a husband to control her decisions. Elizabeth indirectly responded to this in a speech made to Parliament in 1559 (Doc. #11). She made the argument that she was already married to the Kingdom of England and she did not plan on marrying anyone else. One reason for her opposition to marriage is believed to be because of her father’s trouble that came with his multiple marriages. Henry VIII had six different wives, none of which contributed in a pleasant way to his health or reign. Elizabeth, seeing her father struggle with juggling marriage and power, most likely decided marriage was not a good option for a political figure. Another speech Elizabeth made in 1588 responded to the doubts of her strength as a queen because of her being a woman (Doc. #12). In 1588, the Spanish Armada was about to invade England, so Elizabeth’s speech was made to the troops that were about to have to fight for their country. She said, “I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king….” Elizabeth knew that people did not believe she could lead them through the war, so she wrote this speech to convince them of her capability of doing so. She informed them that she was ready to fight alongside them, even if they did not
Elizabeth’s character was a mystery to most people at the time she inherited the throne. She had learned to keep her own council, control her emotions, and always behaved cautiously, thus being able to disprove all rumors about her. Always dignified and stately, she could be vain, willful, dictatorial, temperamental, and imperious. She had courage, both in her decisions, and in the face of danger. Possessing an innate of humanity, she was not normally cruel, unlike most rulers of her day. Most regarded her to be unusually tolerant in that age of religious conflict. She saw herself as one who was always honest and honorable, who
Eventually they had a son George and Elizabeth focused her “truth” upon her son. “In the boyish figure she yearned to see something half forgotten that had once been a part of herself recreated”. She would even pray at time “even though I die, I will in some way keep defeat from you” At one point Elizabeth is said to be praying “If I am dead and see him becoming a meaningless drab figure like myself, I will come back”. That is how strongly she wants George to experience all life has to offer. The last thing she wants is for her precious George to become like her Husband Tom. The “truth” has affected her so much that later on she is willing to kill in order to see her truth live on with her son George. (Anderson
One factor Elizabeth had to face, which was seen as a huge disadvantage, was her gender. This was because the society was very patriarchal, male dominated, meaning that she was seen as week and less capable of being a good leader. This was a problem for Elizabeth as she had to do more to prove that she could be a good leader. This leads onto the fact that her sister Mary wasn’t a good leader so therefore there were low expectations of Elizabeth, This also meant Elizabeth had a lot to prove in order to be a good leader.
When going into more detail about the failed attempts at marriage between both Mary and Elizabeth it is basically repeating the same thing. Which would be that Elizabeth tried but eventually said that she did not want to forsake her virginity to anyone so she had declined any request for her hand and stated that she was married to her country. Mary though did not want to be a virgin she did have three marriages that all failed and even died because someone wasn’t happy or someone cheated on someone. According to both sources by Harmon and Warnicke, both Mary and Elizabeth had some bad encounters with some trouble when they were younger. For Elizabeth it was when Elizabeth found out how Mary had come to get her way into the throne, and Elizabeth found out that Mary was working with people that was attempting to either assassinate or kidnap Elizabeth. Elizabeth kept Mary alive for many years moving her around from prison to prison, and eventually she found out that Mary was plotting once again against Elizabeth so she ordered that Mary, be executed even though she really didn’t want to. Mary too had run into some trouble multiple times in her younger days such as she had multiple threats of abductions against her life. According to Warnicke, “noblemen viewed women rulers as naturally subordinate to them and susceptible, like minors, to their authority if
Elizabeth was a different kind of Queen: quick-witted, clever and able to use feminine wiles to get her own way. Elizabeth could be as ruthless and calculating as any king before her but at the same time she was vain, sentimental and easily
Mary’s intentions in giving Elizabeth were pure, but the situation soon became ruinous when Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft because of owning the
As an actor, playing the role of Elizabeth (younger), how do I interpret her character and explore the theme of sacrifice embodied by her character?
Elizabeth’s strength, independence, and her intense willpower to assure that her marriage is coordinated only by love demonstrate the feminist portrayal of Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s desire for
At the time Elizabeth was in with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who opposed Cecil. The Queen knew when to put politics before her own emotional preference. “Queen Elizabeth and Cecil had a forty year partnership and made their country strong. When Cecil died in 1598, his son Robert took his place until his death in 1612.” (Row 245).
The reign of Queen Elizabeth I is often referred to as "The Golden Age" of English history. Elizabeth was an immensely popular Queen, and her popularity has waned little with the passing of four hundred years. She is still one of the best-loved monarchs, and one of the most admired rulers of all time. She became a legend in her own lifetime, famed for her remarkable abilities and achievements. Yet, about Elizabeth the woman, we know very little. She is an enigma, and was an enigma to her own people.