Game of Suitors

“He meant it this time. He was furious with the Queen for her excitement over the French suitor, and of course what she had said of him had been reported to him. He was not going to allow himself to be so humiliated before the whole Court and dance attendance on her while she archly prepared herself for her meeting with the Duc d’Anjou, who seemed likely to succeed where he had failed.” (Holt, Pg. 222)

I chose this scene to analyze because I feel like it really establishes Elizabeth’s character, and the impact her actions have on the nobles surrounding her. Here we see Elizabeth’s well-known tendency to entertain many suitors. It is clear from Robert’s ‘furious’ reaction that he is displeased with Elizabeth for rejecting him in favor of the Frenchman. And as we can see this in the follow statement from Lettice, “Fate was favoring me. This was my triumph. I had won.” (Holt, Pg. 222) she uses Robert’s anger at the Queen’s favor of another suitor to help her convince him to marry her, showing that Elizabeth’s game of suitors can sometimes provoke the men she manipulates in a negative way. But it also shows Elizabeth’s skill at manipulation; when it says the Duc is ‘likely to succeed where he had failed’, we know Robert believes the Duc actually stands a chance at marrying Elizabeth- something we know is false, as Elizabeth never married; the Duc is just another pawn for her to play with, entertaining his flirtations so that she may get what she wants from him. Also, I like the phrase ‘dance attendance on her’, because I feel the mental image of Elizabeth’s little game of courting as a dance is extremely fitting; she swaps partners frequently, going to and fro between them and making them feel as if she loves them until she is satisfied, then moving on to the next.