Queen Elizabeth I may have professed to have had “the heart and stomach of a king,” but her true greatness lay in her mind. Elizabeth’s character was a true symbolic amalgamation of male and female: the earth mother of her people, the true daughter of Henry VIII. Elizabeth’s brilliant leadership and iconoclastic stature secured her place as one of the most legendary rulers in history. In a few short decades, Elizabeth was able to unite her country, move it out of economic downturn, and secure it as one of the most powerful nations on earth. Birth and early years
Elizabeth’s birth in September 1533 was met with great anticipation, mostly from her father, Henry VIII, who all but expected a son. Attempting to “contrive his bitter disappointment” …show more content…
Her rule was met with what Levin (2013) refers to as “ambivalence” (p. 3) to the idea of a woman ruler, mostly because the assumption was that she would soon marry and pass her power to her husband. However, at a very early age, Elizabeth knew all too well the dangers of women caught “in the intersection of sexuality and politics, of gender and power” (Levin, 2013, p. 1). Seeing her own mother’s fate, as well as her stepmothers’, would have made a strong impression upon Elizabeth; Levin (2013) asserts that Elizabeth once told Robert Dudley, one of her suitors and close friends, that by the age of eight she had already decided never to marry. By remaining single for her 45-year rule, Elizabeth was able to reinvent herself as a true Virgin Queen - and eternal mother to her …show more content…
Levin (2013) contends that Elizabeth avoided the role of wife and having to be the inferior partner in a relationship. She was able to avoid many of the problems that her mother, stepmothers, and sisters could not avoid: infertility and the ensuing embarrassment accompanying it, as well as the risks inherent in childbirth were taken off the table as worries for the queen. Elizabeth was aware of the seductive nature of her position - that possessing her meant possessing the world, something she obviously was not willing to give up. Elizabeth truly was England’s bride and ruler of a country that had “one mistress and no master” (Levin, 2013, p.
Elizabeth’s birth in September 1533 was met with great anticipation, mostly from her father, Henry VIII, who all but expected a son. Attempting to “contrive his bitter disappointment” …show more content…
Her rule was met with what Levin (2013) refers to as “ambivalence” (p. 3) to the idea of a woman ruler, mostly because the assumption was that she would soon marry and pass her power to her husband. However, at a very early age, Elizabeth knew all too well the dangers of women caught “in the intersection of sexuality and politics, of gender and power” (Levin, 2013, p. 1). Seeing her own mother’s fate, as well as her stepmothers’, would have made a strong impression upon Elizabeth; Levin (2013) asserts that Elizabeth once told Robert Dudley, one of her suitors and close friends, that by the age of eight she had already decided never to marry. By remaining single for her 45-year rule, Elizabeth was able to reinvent herself as a true Virgin Queen - and eternal mother to her …show more content…
Levin (2013) contends that Elizabeth avoided the role of wife and having to be the inferior partner in a relationship. She was able to avoid many of the problems that her mother, stepmothers, and sisters could not avoid: infertility and the ensuing embarrassment accompanying it, as well as the risks inherent in childbirth were taken off the table as worries for the queen. Elizabeth was aware of the seductive nature of her position - that possessing her meant possessing the world, something she obviously was not willing to give up. Elizabeth truly was England’s bride and ruler of a country that had “one mistress and no master” (Levin, 2013, p.