Love is No Game

In "The Marriage Game", Alison Weir writes skillfully to turn something small into something that will surely stick out to her readers. This is displayed in a scene where Elizabeth reads the letter Robert sent her stating that he married Lettice and they are having a child.Weir makes sure that the importance of this moment is illuminated. In this section of the story, she uses imagery, word choice, rhetorical questions, and stylistic choices to make the readers feel Elizabeth's pain. Imagery is created when she states "...which made her cry out in agony. Weeping torrents, she sank to the floor, beating her breast" (Weir, 304). Not only can we picture Elizabeth on the floor sobbing, but we can hear it. Weir also uses particular diction to emphasize Elizabeth's feeling of betrayal. She refers to Robert's actions as "treachery"(303) as she cries out in "agony"(304). Weir uses her own linguistic style to portray Elizabeth's thoughts on what Robert has done as extreme and completely unforgivable. "He should not have it this time. He would never have it again"(303), "she would go right now and do that, and let him know how deeply he had hurt and displeased her, and that nothing would ever be the same again, ever" (304). She asks rhetorically, "Did he not know how much she had loved him, and still did love him, God help her"(304)? Weir creates a dramatic, human-like, relatable version of Elizabeth's heartbreak using all these components. Pointing out how hurt Elizabeth was shows that she did not see this as some "Marriage Game", she really did love and care for Robert. Someone that only keeps these men close to the kingdom for fun, sure was heartbroken when she found out she was left for someone else.