Leave the Horse Out of This

I was actually expecting this reading (The Virgin's Lover) to be a lot cringier than it ended up being (as the phrase "romance novel" is one I'm always wary of), but still I did find a couple of cringe moments within it. For example, on page 143, as Elizabeth and Robert admire the portrait of Archduke Ferdinand, Robert makes a peculiar, clearly allegorical and not intended to be skeezy but skeezy (to me) nonetheless about how one ought judge a horses' potential the same way they may a man to marry; in short, feeling it up.

"I would want to know how he felt when I gentled him under my hand, smoothed his neck, touched him everywhere, behind the ears, on the lips, behind the legs. I would want to know how responsive he was when I had him between my legs," (p. 143) and so forth and so on.

My comment, then, is this: I find it interesting, though quite unsettling, that this author, and as we observed in Wednesday's class, many authors' want to sexualize Elizabeth, be it allegorically or directly. I guess a powerful, intelligent woman is just not interesting enough for the masses, though that's human psychology for ya, isn't it? I'm not saying that's how it ought to be, but from reading this, that sure is how it is here.

Elizabeth: The Humble

"Elizabeth came out of the dark Abbey into a blaze of light and heard the roar of the crowd welcome her. She walked through the people so that they could all see her -- this was a queen who would pander to anyone, their love for her was a balm for the years of neglect."

A recurring theme that presented itself to me was the depiction of Elizabeth I as a humble, insecure, and easily manipulated young Queen. This was apparent in the quote above, as well as within several other scenes throughout the excerpts of Gregory's novel. This quote in particular stuck out to me, because of Gregory's insistence that Queen Elizabeth would pander to anyone. Gregory illustrates Elizabeth as the epitome of a weak ruler who lacks confidence and is extremely vulnerable to an insurrection. 

In my opinion this an unfair assessment of Queen Elizabeth's reign as ruler of England. Elizabeth exemplified great strength in the face of crisis on multiple instances as Queen of England, and prevailed every time. Whether that be facing a new council that was constitutionally unfaithful, defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588, or never succumbing to the cowardice cries of her many suitors. 

Mass Inversion

Queen Elizabeth I, as portrayed by Miranda Richardson

          Elizabeth watched in shock as the Bishop of Carlise elevated the Host. How dare he, after giving his word to abide by her wishes! Rallying her patience, she spoke. "Bishop! Lower the pyx." Not a shout, but loud enough to be heard above the choir, and pitched as a command. The old fool ignored her! Trembling with wrath, Elizabeth rose from her seat within the royal pew, slamming the delicate fretwork door back on its hinges (she made a mental not to have it checked later, in case it had been damaged). She called out again, forcing the rage from her voice. "Bishop! I said Bishop! Lower that pyx." The old man turned his head slightly, noted her presence.
    Drawing herself up to her full height, no longer able to stop herself ire tinging her speech, the queen declared "This is my own chapel. You are serving as my chaplain. I am the queen. You will do as I order. Lower that pyx.".. and his head turned back to the mass. No longer able to contain her fury, she turned and strode from the chapel.

Ruling alone... how wonderful....

Keeping the conversation of never marrying going with Amy's husband on page 29, Autumn 1558.

The Princess blinked in surprise. "indeed? Everyone else think I should Marry at once."
"Why ever Marry when you can be the absolute ruler? No man could ever rule as you shall. The only thing a man would do is strip your power from you."
"You're Right. Need a man I not"
Elizabeth keeps confident on the outside but inside her mind races. Thoughts of Sir Dudley creep into her mind and she is saddened by the thought of living her life without him or anyone for that matter.

As Elizabeth grows older in the movies she is depicted as becoming more stern and becomes more pale. Is this because of her growing commitment to being Queen, or is she becoming a cold person who is alone.

‘Queen’ Elizabeth? Hardly

“Robert, I don’t know how to do this.” she said, in a small voice. “I can’t even remember how to get to the King’s rooms from the great hall. If someone doesn’t walk before me I’ll get lost. I don’t know how to get to the gardens from the picture gallery, or from the stable to my rooms. I... I’m lost here.” (Gregory, Pg. 35)

This quote was the moment I realized there was something very wrong with this novels depiction of Elizabeth. The way she delivers this line- ‘in a small voice’- paints her as helpless and frightened, which is the complete opposite of Queen Elizabeth. We see her here, nervous and quivering and relying on a man to guide her. Granted, it’s in a fairly mundane situation, and it’s entirely possible that the real Elizabeth could plausibly have gotten lost; but I refuse to believe she would openly act so helpless. This is where I realized Elizabeth in this book was going to be nothing but a typical helpless damsel, and it only gets worse from here...