We watched Elizabeth in class as a means of understanding the world and political landscape that Shakespeare was born into. The movie, however, is also an excellent introduction to Shakespeare’s history plays because it is structured similar to the histories and their fascination with the intrigue of the royal court. Answer the following questions in complete paragraphs.
1. Does the fact that Elizabeth is a woman affect her role as the leader of England? How so?
2. Elizabeth has many choices to make as a leader — how to unify the people under a single religion, how to deal with the attack from Scotland, who to marry (or to marry at all). Pick one of her decisions and analyze it. Consider, what were her choices? Did she choose wisely? How might she have chosen differently if she were a leader today? How might you have chosen if you were the ruler in her place?
Yes, the fact that Elizabeth is a women affects her role as a leader because people are trying to pressure her into wedlock. They believe she is vulnerable because she doesn’t have a husband or an heir to the throne, resulting in a weak monarchy.
Elizabeth’s choice to return England back to it’s former religion was a good decision because she didn’t kill Catholics like Mary did. Instead, Elizabeth allowed the people to have freedom and follow whatever religion they choose. Perhaps if she were Queen today she would’ve decided to keep the church separate from the monarchy because religion isn’t as influential as it was in her time period.
If I were ruler in Elizabeth’s place I probably would’ve made similar choices to hers because I supported her ideas to allow people to follow their own choice of religion. I also wouldn’t have gone to war with Scotland if I saw that it would only cause more chaos. In addition, I believe I also wouldn’t have gotten married because I don’t believe in marriage now. I also believe that one doesn’t need to marry in order to be a great ruler. If anything, marriage would serve as another distraction.
1. Elizabeth being a woman does affect her role as leader of England because up to that point the people were used to ruthless male rulers even though Mary was a woman who ruled for a short time she ruled with an iron fist like the others. People did not know how to perceive Elizabeth because she desired to change the country in so many ways by starting with the church and these were matters they felt only could be decided by a male figure. A son is one of the most important things for a royal family because he takes the throne after, his father so for a woman to be the last viable option to take the crown since no son was alive was a situation that worried the people.
2. Elizabeth choices dealing with marriage were absolutely genius because she had many suitors but she analyzed the outcome of each. The Duke of Anjou, Lord Robert and King Phillip of Spain were all possible marriage proposals but unfortunately failed at courting Elizabeth because in the back of her mind she knows that if she marries it is possible that the gentleman could take the crown if she was to suddenly die and there were many plots of assassination for her. Also, each of these gentleman’s background could also possibly be fatal to England’s well-fare seeing as how they are from other countries. If she married in to France or Spain she would have to abide by her husbands customs and in a sense unite England with another country under her and her husbands rule. So, in actuality she chose wisely because she was a Queen for the people seeing as how she had no marital ties so, she was free to rule how she pleased and the Duke of Norfolk was never able to take his seat as King. In today’s day and age Elizabeth would have probably chosen the same course of action today because no one will never know her thought process on how to conduct herself in certain circumstances. If I were Elizabeth I would have done the same because it does not take marriage to a man to rule a country a woman is well suited to do that by herself.
1. I think the fact that Elizabeth is a woman does affect her role as leader of England because of course during those times, the role of a woman is very behind the scenes. Women are to cook and clean, the obvious stereotypical idea of woman. That’s why I think that those who are around her and help make decisions are always pushing for her to get married, they don’t believe that she can rule, successfully, on her own. They are willing to throw any man at her simply to denounce her power in some way. Elizabeth even made a joke about her strength as a woman, not being able to force anyone to do something they didn’t agree with. Because Elizabeth is a woman her power to do anything is questionable.
2. Elizabeth’s decisions on who to marry or who not, I think was a courageous decision to make. She has all these people pressing her about marriage weighing her options and telling her who she should marry, but she chooses differently. This in some ways works out for her because she has been able to prove why she will not marry these men. However, she still does not have a significant other. Elizabeth, I think has conjured up in her mind that she cannot trust anyone and that she must protect her throne because of that. I believe she has chosen wisely, but she has also left plenty of room for people to look down upon her and continue to have disbelief in her ruling. If Queen Elizabeth were a leader now I think she would have chosen a companion by now because times have changed and she would have been more accepting and open to that change because she has made great difference herself. If I was the leader and in Elizabeth’s shoes I probably would have already married and England would still be the same. Standing up against a whole bureau of people who have been here longer than me is intimidating and honestly I would not have been able to make the decisions that Elizabeth has made, but I do agree with them in some ways.
1) Yes the fact that Elizabeth is a woman effects her role because the people see her a weak minded and they do not see her fit to rule. Especially because she was a lot less strict than her sister Mary. The bishops feel that Elizabeth can not think on her feet when in comes to things like war and she can’t govern the people effectively. The people are used to male rulers who are ruthless and get jobs done. The people looked up to those men. Since Elizabeth came into power, the people aren’t as devoted to the queen because they doubt her.
2) Elizabeth had to decide whether or not she wanted to go to war with England. She had her council telling her that she should go to war because the Scottish army is threatening to take over England. But she had her body guard telling her that she should wait to go to war. I believe that Elizabeth knew in her heart what she wanted to do. She didn’t want to go to war but because she was new to power and she wanted to please everyone she agreed with her council and sent her weak troop to war. And they lost. If she was in power today i think she would have chosen the same as she did back then because she still would have been pressured to make everyone around her happy instead of doing what she felt was right. I think i would have gone with what my gut was telling me and not what everyone else thought was right.
The fact that Elizabeth is a woman affects her authority as queen because during the time women weren’t seen as dominant figures. Unlike Queen Mary, Elizabeth lacks the power to conquer. Due to her gender and her lack of dominance she fails to control England. As a women Elizabeth did not know how to protect her kingdom. With the lack of resources and knowledge of how to rule, others are urging her marry a prince so the kingdom could be under proper control, by a man.
Elizabeth’s decision to go to war with Scotland was an unwise choice. Her kingdom lacked the sufficient amount of resources to go into war but she went ahead and led her people to death. She even forced children to fight in the war. With the lack of resources, I believe Elizabeth shouldn’t have entered war in the first place. If my kingdom was under attack I would at least try to find an alliance or try to build up walls to protect the fortress. Instead, Elizabeth gathered up some citizens to die in war even if they were unfit to fight. Today, Elizabeth probably would have done the same to retaliate since she does not know what to do. As a queen she does not know how to make her own decisions but rather go with strategies others tell her. If I were chosen to rule in her place I would have chosen to find an alliance in order to strengthen the kingdom with protection. I would at least try being a dominant figure like Queen Mary in order to have control over my people. With order, there will be less chaos and easier to have control over the kingdom.
1. The fact that Elizabeth is a woman has a huge affect as her role as the leader of England. Women are sterotypically the usual “house wives,” such as cooking and cleaning. Historically women were bot respected nor abstained power. For the people of England to see a lady with power, it worries them because they do not know what a female is capable of, specifically Elizabeth. Although, her sister, Mary, was also a lady, she had a strong approach to situations. On the other hand, Elizabeth is getting acustomed to the royalty life; however,
1. The fact that Elizabeth is a woman has a huge affect as her role as the leader of England. Women are sterotypically the usual “house wives,” such as cooking and cleaning. Historically women were not respected nor abstained power. For the people of England to see a lady with power, it worries them because they do not know what a female is capable of, specifically Elizabeth. Although, her sister, Mary, was also a lady, she had a strong approach to situations. On the other hand, Elizabeth is allowing the people too much freedom espically with religious beliefs. As a leader, she is suppose to be strict and enforce strict laws; however she is not. It is clear for the people of England to see that she is a easy target.
2. Elizabeth had many choices to make as a leader of England. One choice she had to make was whether or not she wanted to get married. Surprisingly, she disliked the fact that she had to marry whom the people wanted. However, since the people wanted her to marry, she strategized how she will chose who she wants. Luckily, The Duke of Anjou, Lord Robert and King Phillip were all bad men for her to marry. In addition, if she married any one of the men, they she would have to change her views about religion. Instead she would have to listen to her husband’s views and follow his beliefs. As a Queen, she wants to stay in power and rule the country the way she desires. I think she would of made the same choice if she was a leader today because in today’s society, women are competing against men for power. Women are not allowing men to control them anymore, and instead women are making their own decisions. If I was in Elizabeth’s place, I would have made the same decision because I would not like to marry someone that I’m not in love with. Although, it will benefit my country, it will also leave my country chaotic and unstable with different beliefs.
1) I believe the fact that Elizabeth is a woman greatly affects her role. Many of the citizens of England believe that a man should be in charge of a country. In addition, princes are taught how to run a country whereas princesses are taught to be dainty, to smile and wave, and to be good wives to whomever they are married off to. So I think, it was especially hard for Elizabeth at first to make difficult decisions. Also, in her mind, she might often think, when something goes bad people will watch her reaction and she must be careful not to be “to emotional.” Overall, I think that in part, because she is a woman, that’s one of the things that makes her so great.
2) A decision that she has to make is whom or whether or not she should marry. Considering her options, she didn’t have a wide range of seemingly faithful men to choose from. In the end, she chose not to be married. I think she chose wisely because she didn’t need a man to run the country, and not only did she run the country, she created peace, stability, and was prosperous. In post-modern times, I think it’s possible for her to have chosen differently, because today one would be held more accountable therefore improving morale among her suitors. If I was in her place, I think I would’ve wanted to get married, but if my options were as awful, I’d probably stick to being legally single as well.
1. Elizabeth is under a lot of pressure as the leader of a country. I believe there is more pressure placed on her because she is a woman. Elizabeth is under more scrutiny because people feel she may not be as equipped to govern as a man would be. Additionally, the people may feel that she is not as wise to lead because she is a female. Because she was a woman, people also put more pressure on her to get married. They wanted her to have an heir to the throne. If she were a man, her decision to remain officially single might have been more widely accepted.
2. One decision Elizabeth makes as leader is to not marry anyone. I believe Elizabeth makes a wise decision because she does not settle for the people who want to marry her. The Duke of Aujou would not have helped her improve the country, as he did not care about her intellectuality. Elizabeth saw this and refused his hand in marriage. By choosing not to marry, she put all of her focus into governing England in the best way possible. If she were a leader today, she might not have made this decision, because she might have had more options. Today, it is not frowned upon for a person of royalty to marry a commoner; Prince William married Kate Middleton who was not of royal blood. Elizabeth might have met someone who she saw fit to help her lead, and wouldn’t have had to choose solely from the people she was presented with.
1. The fact that Elizabeth is a woman does actually affect her role as the leader of England because the citizens expect less of her since she is a woman. They believe that she is not fit to rule and it is shown when they want her to marry a king. They feel that if she marries, she will be able to make decisions on behalf of the country more efficiently because she will have a man helping her. It is also more of a burden for her because she is not as strict as her sister was, especially with the division of religions. Everyone, including the bishops, believe that she will not succeed. It is a bit ironic how they, as religious people, are supposed to treat everyone equal since they’re all the sons and daughters of the creator, but yet they don’t do so.
2. A decision that Elizabeth had to make was to marry and given her choices, it was best for her not to marry. By not marrying, she does go against what many of the advisers want, but she ultimately stays true to herself and represents a woman that can think and act on her own. If she were to marry, people would that her husband is telling her to things, even if that were to not be the case. She chose wisely because she had to choose Spain, which was not to be considered royalty because of his actions. To be quite honest, if she were a leader today, she would’ve gone with the dance teacher and lied about his marriage and then gotten into a predicament with the public. If I were in her place, I would not have chosen any of them either and would’ve solely stuck to my decision making as queen.
1. Yes, Queen Elizabeth’s gender did affect her role as the leader of England. She had to overcome many obstacles that would not have been present if she was a man. The pope voted against that because it was said she was deemed unfit as a ruler by them. After she sent troops to war, she later found out that they sent children. This further put the Queen of Scotland against her. The Queen of Scotland sent a child back to his Queen commenting that she shouldn’t have sent children. The pope sent children because they want a man in power. She was also being forced to marry someone to ensure her position. They wanted her to produce an heir to the throne.
2. Her choice on how to unify people under one religion was a good one. The Church of England would be the main religion but people were free to practice whatever religion they wanted. This stopped religious persecution which is a sin by itself. Under her reign religious tolerance was encouraged. If she was the leader today, this still would have been the right choice to make. Another choice she had been to do what Queen Mary did which was not the right thing to do. If I was in Queen Elizabeth’s place I would have done the same thing.
1) Since Elizabeth is a female, it affects her role as a leader in England. Many look down on her since she is a female. During this time period, females were inferior to males. The pope dislikes Queen Elizabeth and refers to her as a “whore.” Sir Robert refers to the queen as his Elizabeth but she states “I am no one’s Elizabeth” which shows how women were referred to as property. Everyone wants Elizabeth to remarry, which shows how they refer to her as property. They claim to be “a man of god” but the pope tells citizens that the first person to kill Elizabeth will be guaranteed a trip to heaven. It’s a very hypocritical society and time period.
2) On Queen Elizabeth’s second day, she is immediately faced with her first challenge as queen. She must decide whether to go to war with Scotland or not, which is an urgent decision. Later, Elizabeth regrets her decision and many are upset with her since plenty of people are found dead. The bishops want Elizabeth gone. Someone even tries to kill her. It seems like no leader is good enough for England, and they are unable to keep a leader without trying to replace one. Unfortunately, Elizabeth does not choose wisely since she gives in to the pressure of the citizens and those working for her. If she had to make a decision today than she might not listen to those around her who are only using her for their gain, she would listen to herself instead of satisfying everyone else. If I was ruler my goal would be to prevent as much violence as possible. I wouldn’t allow people to influence my decision since I must run a country based on what I feel is best for others especially for those who may not know what’s best for themselves.
Question #1: The fact that Elizabeth is a woman does affect her reign as Queen for a number of reasons. One reason is the fact that historically men were superior to women and Kings often were the leaders of mighty nations, so the fact that she’s a woman is sort of a ridicule of the England, this why the men in the movie really don’t take her serious or try to dictate what her stance should be on hierarchal decisions. Another reason is that since she is a woman the people of England believed that she didn’t have the heart to make decisive decisions pertaining to the country’s well-being, essentially they didn’t believe she had any heart. Ironically, as the movie progresses she proves both of these biases wrong as becoming one of the most successful rulers of England and establishing an era of English prosperity known as ‘The Golden Age’.
Question #2: Throughout the film Elizabeth faces a lot of decisive choices that she has to make for the well-being of her country, one of them including: who she chooses to take her hand in marriage. Out of all the main plots in the movie this seemed to be the most evident as Elizabeth was forced to decide to choose from the Duke of Anjou who was a cross dresser but was a relative of the powerful nation of France, King of Spain who just wanted to claim her throne, or her true love Sir Robert who she later found out was a part of a pact created by the Pope to ‘remove’ her from her reign. All in all her choice to not accept any of their hands in marriage was both a bold choice and intelligent. Such a decision was very wise because by portraying herself as the ‘virgin queen’ through the mere image of the virgin marry she illuminated her allegiance to England and not only established herself as the mother of England but also gained the respect of all her people. Ironically, if her reign was taken place in modern times I don’t believe she would be unwedded, because unlike medieval ages in today’s society royal marriages don’t necessarily have to pertain to country allegiances. For example, England’s current King married a dancer he meet in a club not a member any royalty. Hypothetically, if I was in Elizabeth’s position I wouldn’t have inherited the role as the ‘virgin queen’, I honestly would’ve found another soul mate outside of the choices at hand, just as Sir Robert was considered when she first meet him because he wasn’t of any royal importance. Overall, Elizabeth’s decisions throughout her reign were all well sought out as it resulted in her 60 year reign as Queen of England.
1) Being a female, Elizabeth has many people against her. Along with being a Protestant and not wanting to be married, most of the empire did not want her in charge; some people have even tried to assassinate her. Most of her council believe that she will not have any allies or true power over the kingdom if she does not wed and produce a heir.
2) Elizabeth’s choice to stay Protestant and not conform to Catholic was a good one. Instead of becoming Catholic and taking the easy road while betraying her beliefs, she earned her kingdom’s trust and loyalty the hard way. If she had to make the decision during his age, it would not be as intense as it was back then. Religion is not as important in the government as it was before. I’m not sure. It is a very hard choice, but I would have done the same.
Elizabeth being a woman plays a huge role in the leadership of England. Her mistakes are looked at more because of her gender and the fact that England would rather a male rule them. When she went into parliament and asked them to stand by her side and trust her judgment, they could only laugh because during this time women were not looked at as being able to govern. They were dancers who cooked, cleaned, and took care of the children in a household. Her choices as a leader were looked at closely because of her background. She was seen as promiscuous and a woman who would only do harm to England and its people. By being assertive and not showing fear towards anyone Elizabeth showed people that it didn’t matter who she was, only that she was the right person who could lead England and be its queen. Elizabeth’s decision to not marry was bold as many say because of the many people who tried their hardest to get her to do so. They said that the people would not listen to her unless she had a man at her side. Despite her at first trying to find a suitable husband, she makes the decision that she will rule on her own. Also, she would be the Virgin Elizabeth and be married to England. Personally I believe that she chose wisely because of the negative things people said about her. She proved the people wrong; however, she lived a life of unwedded, no children, and no love. Those were the sacrifices she had to live with for the rest of her life. If I was in her place I believe I would have done it, because it wasn’t what was best for her. It was what the best interest was for England and in this case being married to England made her/gave her the strength that she had as a leader. Looking at today’s society I believe she wouldn’t have to make a choice of marrying a male if she was president because our world doesn’t work that way. Yes, people do say that a males are dominate over females but we as a society don’t/ try to force a woman to marry.
1) The fact that Elizabeth was a woman does affect her role as leader of England for several reasons. First of all, women are usually never in a big position during that time period. Most were doing domestic work such as cooking or watching over her children while the husband would go out doing fun stuff. This affected her somewhat because she wasn’t a tough Queen like others were. Also, since she was a woman, people did not take her seriously sometimes. Some men would go up to her as if she was a regular girl on the street and kiss her on the lips. This affected how others saw her role as a leader as well.
2) Queen Elizabeth was a very good leader in my opinion. She had to chose a man to marry and she did not marry any of the ones that were shown to her. She knew that if she married the man from Spain or France or any other country that the throne would be in jeopardy if she was to die. Elizabeth made right decisions for her people and not just for herself as other leaders would probably do once they get on the throne. This was a very wise decision by her. She also decided to become the virgin Queen and become the Mother of England and because of her wise decision making is what led her to rule during what is now recognized as the Golden Age of the middle ages. If she was a ruler during the present, i believe she would do the same as she did in the middle ages. Although, if i was the leader of England i would want to find me a wife who would truly make me happy. I believe being the King without a Queen is boring and lonely. Besides, i would love to have my children take over my position that way they can be born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
1)Elizabeth being a woman affects her ruling the country. Her advisors question her authority because at the time woman didn’t have much say in politics and were meant to tend to their husbands and raise children. Also, Elizabeth was pressured into wedlock to help prevent war with Scotland and ensure wealth with Spain.
2)Elizabeth’s choice to not get married is one decision that many consider controversial. Although her decision created much strife among her advisors, in the end her decision proved to be positive one. If Elizabeth had decided to marry it would have been to ensure the safety of her country. However, after the queen of Scotland has died the ultimate threat to her country has disappeared. In addition, she refuses to marry the king of Spain out of honor for her recently deceased sister. Ultimately, Elizabeth decides to become a born again virgin and marry England: devoting herself entirely to her country.