I have to admit, it is really hard for me to get into the readings for this class. They all seem so much alike. The earlier readings were all about Elizabeth being sexual and more about her personal life than her as a queen. So of course, our readings now (written in her time) are exactly the opposite. All about her as a queen and how amazing she was. There are different opinions on how she ruled of course... but the point is that there is no excitement in these readings anymore. It is sad that Elizabeth is only seen in two ways, which is why I guess we can only read about her in two ways.
Maybe it is true, that in order to sell things there has to be reference to sex and personal events. I mean, it was so easy to read and connect to the earlier Elizabeth readings. They were personal (fake) events that portrayed Elizabeth as more of a woman who was just human. A human that made mistakes just like the rest of us. When I read, I like to find ways to connect to a character because it makes the story more interesting. These later readings are all about this amazing queen that did no wrong, making it harder to relate. I get over this image of Elizabeth so much faster--> I don't want to read about a woman who did no wrong and was so amazing all the time. I know she wasn't perfect, no one has/ is / or will be...
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Hey Sarah,
ReplyDeleteWell, it is interesting to compare the difference and wonder why it occurs. Obviously, the people in her time, could not see her the same way we see her today. We live in a very different time and culture from Elizabeth, but the writings from her day were written by people who were surrounded by the same environment she was.
Reading The Virgin's Lover for example, we see how an author takes a woman from the 1500's and writes about her in today's style. For one, this is entertaining for us because it was written for us. And it is written in a way that shows contrast between today's age and theirs.
The authors of the early 1600's wrote their works as if Elizabeth's life is what it is expected to be. For example, the Southwell's superstitious account is hard to believe and relate today, whereas for the time it was written, it was probably believed by many.
Also, think of it this way. We do not see any mainsteam books written on the faults of Abe Lincoln, or George Washington because they are the heroes of our country. We want to see them in this light only, and we want our children to look up to them. But in 500 years, the writings about them could be very different than today. There will be a "Sarah of 2509" writing a blog about how today's writings are BORING! Right?
-Aleks