mimicofmodes:rebeccapearson:the white queen meme: [2/7] quotesThis is what it is to be Queen Militan

mimicofmodes:rebeccapearson:the white queen meme: [2/7] quotesThis is what it is to be Queen Militant, you have to fight for what you own. Remember these odds, this pain, for if we win you will never have to march again. Don’t you ever tire of living like this? Never. This is what I live for. Even if it means you’re hated?During the wars, Margaret of Anjou was actually not broadly seen this way. Philippa Gregory (and her adapters) really loves the trope of historical women being in direct opposition to the patriarchy, and of having “women’s weapons” they are meant to use, but it was completely acceptable for a queen to act for her husband or underage son. Queens and noblewomen of the period had extensive public roles and duties, and weren’t meant to be helpless pawns.Plenty of queens were slandered for taking on a larger role in politics than they were supposed to have - when things went wrong. Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of Charles IV of France (who, like Henry VI, was mentally ill in such a way that he was incapacitated for long periods), went down in history as a vile adulteress and seductress because there was a civil war on her watch as well as massive military losses to Henry V. Ambition was also seen as a terrible flaw in a woman, but the concept was malleable.If Margaret had won and been able to place her son on the throne, she would have been celebrated by following generations for having the strength to temporarily take up power in defense of the rightful kings, and for being a loving wife and mother. The people who accused her of being ambitious for herself and of committing adultery and being a “she-wolf” were the people who wanted her to lose (or were glad after the fact that she lost).A good book on this topic is Queenship, Gender, and Reputation in the Medieval and Early Modern West, 1060-1600, edited by Zita Eva Rohr and Lisa Benz. -- source link

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