Queen Elizabeth I of England had a major effect on woman’s history from the time she was crowned, taking the place of her half-sister Mary in 1558. It was obvious that Elizabeth was going to learn many things about ruling a country from Mary, but it was unclear that she would take her strategies and make them her own. She would be under the same scurrility because of her gender and her basic beliefs, but she did not let that interfere with her place on the throne. Elizabeth mirrored the way Mary ran things and focused more on the topics she felt important, although the public believed that trivial subjects such as her unwilling to marry, or have children, and the fact that she was in deed a woman. Elizabeth embraced the her femininity and used it to comfort the public in which she ruled rather than intimidating them with it, or trying to seem more masculine. She found no reason to hide behind a man, and in that way she paved the way for feminists hundreds of years later to stand up for themselves and march to be treated as equals. Queen Mary was crowned in 1553 as the first queen of England, ruled in a way that showed that she too could be treated the same as a man, referring to herself as a “prince” in many speeches, she metaphorically took the role as a man to help relate to the public rather than proving to them that she as a woman could be just as strong as a man. Upon her death in 1558, Elizabeth took over the throne and “mirrored” that strategy. Instead of hiding behind metaphors and word choices, she embraced the fact that she was one of the first reigning queens and did not let anyone forget it. When she took the throne, Elizabeth was in the same situation as her sister just years before. She was not looked at as a new leader, but instead as “a single woman in a traditionally male role, expected to reign, wield power, and produce a male heir.” (Beemer, 258). By observations one could tell that Elizabeth was not alright with this idea at all, she insisted that she would marry when she saw fit, and to someone that would help produce an idea heir, but it was never on her agenda for fear of loosing her place as the leader. Her interests may not have been in empowering women of the future, but she indeed did have a large impact on what others would call a very bold way of establishing her presence in a male dominated world. During this time in England, and other parts of the world, “Royal women were married off in careful diplomatic processes because they could essentially give birth to peace between nations and across religions” (Beemer, 261). Elizabeth ruled without giving birth to an heir to the throne, and this caused many problems over her reign. People wanted the royalty to stay in the family, and they feared that someone would take over who was not fit for the job. This established her stance as a female leader, because she felt that she would be ruling until the day she died, and did not want anything to get in the way of this. Along with never having children of her own, she remained unwed until her death, she had many suitors, but never serious to take her side as King. When she was questioned about her status on finding a husband to take her side, she stated that she was “already bound unto an husband, which is the kingdom of England” (Beemer, 266), she made the people believe that she was very serious about her role in the government and that she was just as dedicated to her country as she would be to a husband. This banished the question of marriage without her having to actually marry any man. Queen Elizabeth was not childless by any means, she was the godmother of over fifty children during her lifetime. One of her godchildren belonging to her companion and also a female ruler herself, Catherine De’ Medici of France. The two were very similar in not only their backgrounds but the way that they presented themselves. There were obvious differences in the way they went about things but their friendship was founded on the fact that they were so similar. One author even states that “the courtesy the two queens showed one another betrayed their instinctive political sense” (Kruse, 128). Although Catherine had children and at one time had a husband, she still shared the same thoughts on marriage, they both, “used these marriage negotiations for the very purpose of maintaining good relations and to avoid war” (Kruse, 130). Neither woman had any desire to be married, or be in love, they just wanted what was going to be best for their countries and to them that meant finding someone that would take care of the country as much as they did, as well as helping produce an heir to the throne that would suffice when the time came. As long as England was happy, Elizabeth was happy as well. She did not need a companion to please her or keep her busy, she wanted her full focus to be on her duties as queen. The two women managed to support each other and keep 30 years of peace between France and England. The problems that Queen Elizabeth faced mainly stemmed from her gender and her inability to follow the footsteps of her half-sister as far as being hidden behind the men that never wanted a woman to rule. It seemed much easier for a man to rule rather than a woman simply for the fact that there the woman had to marry, and have a child, when a man was in charge of the country, he didn’t seem like he had any scrutiny for being a man, nor was he pressured into marriage, children, or the way in which they presented themselves. Susan Doran, the author of the article “Elizabeth I Gender, Power, and Politics”, explains that “In theory, at least, women were not expected to assert any independent authority but were deemed subservient to male relatives” (Doran, 30). Elizabeth knew that she was not going to be treated equally and yet the public did not expect her to act on her own, let alone so strongly. Even her sister before her was trying to hide her opinion inside the opinion of a man to avoid being shut down for her ideas. This was strategically a good idea for her because she was able to get her ideas across without being shut down immediately because of her gender, but Elizabeth wanted it to be known that she was capable of ruling and that was exactly what she did. Queen Elizabeth did not try to cover herself up, or seem more masculine in any way, she wanted to be embraced as a woman, “she maintains the pathos of her role as a woman in a male- dominated society by fulfilling society’s image of a proper female conduct, while claiming the ethos of the established role of previously male authority” (Beemer, 267). She insisted that she be treated as the queen should be treated, in her mind, she as just as good of a leader as a male would be, if not better.
In 1566 Elizabeth gave a speech again on the subject of her not bearing children. This speech became known as the “Petticoat Speech”. She begins by questioning herself, asking “Whom have I enriched to others’ harm? What turmoil have I made in this commonwealth, that I should be suspected to have no regard to the same?” (Beemer, 268). Elizabeth used this tactic to show that she has in fact been doing well as leader and she would like to be judged on this fact rather than her not having children. She wanted everyone to know that she was in fact in her rightful place as the Queen of England. By this time she was tired of answering the same questions over and over again when the answers to those questions were not going to be answered of even acknowledged. In a way, she it seems as though she got to the point of not wanting to marry based on the principle of not wanting to be forced to marry someone that wouldn’t make a good heir to the throne. She does not want a husband for any reason other than to have a child together. During the “Petticoat Speech”, she metaphorically stripes herself down, she tries this one last time to get it through the minds of her peers that she is in fact a woman who is strong enough to hold onto her beliefs and not be effected when someone else tries to tell her to do otherwise, even when it is her whole kingdom against her, she still stands her ground rather than finding a way around their propositions, In The Female Monarchy: A Rhetorical Strategy of Modern Rule, Beemer praises Elizabeth for her speech saying:
“she does not apologize for her gender; she does not deny it. She is not an extraordinary queen; she is everywoman who could go anywhere and still be powerful. Elizabeth throws off the trappings of royalty, and what is underneath is not the prince, but the woman- powerful and ruling.”
Elizabeth was not afraid of her faults because she knew that she was a great leader, not just for a woman, but overall.
The amount of concern that people had over her not having children or getting married had crowded the judgment of her peers for long that it became what she was known best for. Christopher Haigh wrote The Reign of Elizabeth I and included that, “[Elizabeth] inspired her nation to greatness and check its dangerous enthusiasms. This picture, of a golden Queen tender her people in a golden age, was to be reproduced by copyists time after time.” (53). There were times in which she was noted for her power and difference, but more often than not she will be remembered as someone who did not marry, did not have children and was not afraid to be a woman. We should remember her for paving the way for all women in the future to not only accept their femininity, but embrace it in a way that others will be inspired to do the same. Queen Elizabeth I of England, did more than just rule the country with pride, she was the mother of England and the wife as well. She loved her country and took care of them during her time on the throne.