Alexandra The Last Tsarina Analysis

The nonfiction work, Alexandra: The Last Tsarina by Carolly Erickson, delves into the world of the Romanov family and how their three-hundred-year-old dynasty came to an abrupt end in the early twentieth century. Erickson, award-winning historian and biographer, paints the picture of the harsh realities that encompassed the life of the German-born, Alexandra Feodorovna, some of which include a quest for a seemingly unattainable lover, a miscarriage, depression, and mystic named Rasputin. The novel prolongs the entire life of Alexandra, beginning with her lack of a true loved one during her childhood and murder of her entire family during the wake of the Russian Revolution. Erickson attempts to evoke a sense of sympathy in the audience for Alexandra …show more content…
First, shortly after the marriage of Nicholas and Alix, the Russian people began to have a certain distaste for Alix simply because of her German heritage. In fact, the people of Russia even gave her crude nicknames to demonstrate their hatred towards her. People typically overlook the fact that Alix was a loving mother and wife, who attempted to do what was best for her family and that came with a cost. Another fact that was overlooked by most people at the time, is that Alix suffered from a form a spinal disease, which practically made her unable to walk and at the time of her execution she even asked for chairs for her and Alexei due to their poor health. In fact, Alix was noted to have looked well older than her actual age because of the condition that she suffered from. The Tsarina was a two-sided person; one that the Russian people saw and one that her family saw. To the Russian people, Alix was quiet, reserved, and a woman that only cared about herself. However, to her family, Alix was an intelligent, creative, and loving mother and wife. The most crucial fact that people tend to leave out is that Alix and her daughters worked as nurses for the wounded Russian soldiers during WWI, which clearly goes to show that Alix desired to help those around her. The qualities …show more content…
The novel, Alexandra: The Last Tsarina by Carolly Erickson, goes beyond the typical history classroom to give insight into the lives of the Romanovs prior to and during the Russian Revolution. After reading this book, one is exposed to a story of love, sickness, and death. I personally found this novel rather insightful because the psychological side of Alix is portrayed in a way that helps the audience understand that the lives of the Romanovs were ones accompanied by tragedy. It was not until nearly eighty years after Alix’s death that she got the recognition she deserved when she was deemed a