Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Mary, --Queen of Scots, --1542-1587;
Abstract
The views expressed about the life of Mary Queen of Scots from the sixteenth century onwards by poets, dramatists, and historians have created a legend around her. These views will be compared and contrasted in this paper. The works selected for this paper reflect both ends of the spectrum: Mary as a political figure ("queen") or as a romantic figure ("woman"). The purposes of the first chapter are to introduce Mary Stuart and provide a historical context for specific episodes in her life. Mary's actions in England and Scotland led Edmund Spenser arranged Mary's crimes in allegorical form in order to prove she was a political threat to Elizabeth, as examined in the second chapter. This allegory also suggested that since Mary was Catholic, she was a threat to Protestantism as well. The third chapter presents a martyr and a tragic figure, as reflected in Maria Stuart by Friedrich Schiller and Maria Stuarda by Gaetano Donizetti. Maxwell Anderson's Mary of Scotland interprets Mary's actions as political in nature, showing a passable politician, as do the two films analyzed in this paper (Mary of Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots). In the fourth chapter, the historians Antonia Fraser, Gordon Donaldson, and Jenny Wormald are examined. Fraser's Mary Queen of Scots uses the themes of freedom and health, pointing out Mary's frailty in times of crisis. Donaldson concentrates on Mary's statecraft in his works selected for this paper (Mary Queen of Scots, The First Trial of Mary Queen of Scots, and All the Queen's Men). Wormald's Mary Queen of Scots: A Study in Failure claims Mary did not want to rule Scotland, had no clear policy with which to govern, and could not cope with the responsibilities of power. The conclusions of this study show the similarities between Fraser, Schiller, and Donizetti in their presentations of Mary as a noble, tragic woman; between Anderson, the films, and Donaldson in their view of Mary as an adept, but not vicious, statesperson; and between Spenser and Wormald in showing Mary as a failure through her misplacement of priorities. The policies of Mary and Elizabeth are found to be similar, sharing the goal of security of throne and realm. The main difference is in the amount of distinction each queen made between her public and private lives. As the debate over the ruling capabilities of Mary Queen of Scots continues, the legend merges with history and the real Scottish queen is lost.
Year of Submission
1994
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of History
First Advisor
Carol Morgan
Second Advisor
Elaine Kalmar
Third Advisor
Jay Lees
Date Original
1994
Object Description
1 PDF file (95 leaves)
Copyright
©1994 Shari A. Herlein
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Herlein, Shari A., "Mary Queen of Scots: The Legend Continues" (1994). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2927.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2927
Comments
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