For today’s post I have chosen to look at why so many of us are fascinated with doomed Queens. I am certainly someone who is endlessly fascinated with any and all doomed Queens! I sometimes wonder why it is that so many people love to revisit the stories of these women.
In my opinion the topic of doomed Queens fascinates because they were women ahead of their time. They would also go on to pay the ultimate price for their opposition to the status quo. In many ways that is why the subject of doomed Queens is one that either inspires people to view them as saintly martyrs or as evil seductresses! In truth most of them were neither, instead as something in between.
Doomed Queens provide the inspiration for no shortage of works of art. This includes books, poetry, paintings, plays, and films! The subject of a rebellious woman who would have a huge downfall is one that will never cease to inspire. I have written many times about several doomed Queens, and I know I will continue to do so. This is because I find the subject one that never will stop being intriguing for me! When I ask myself why, I find a clear reason.
This reason is that I know that I would not be able to hold many of the liberties as a woman that I hold without these women coming before me. They may not have been out to make all women’s lives better, but by their stories being told and retold they became icons of female empowerment! It also acts as a reminder to me that no matter how bad my life seems, it can be vastly worse. I am very happy that I discovered their stories at a young age, as it has led to many years to be able to study them. This study of many doomed monarchs has made me proud to be a woman, and inspired me to be rebellious when I find a cause that I deem worthy of it. In some ways even with many centuries separating us, the story of a doomed Queen feels like reading of a woman of our own time living in another. This concept of being ahead of her time is something that tends to be said about many a doomed Queen!
I hope that this post explains my fascination with doomed Queens, and maybe inspires my readers to study them. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Further Reading
- The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives
- Young, and Damned, and Fair by Gareth Russell
- Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser
- Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser
- Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
White Rose of Avalon 