Post 4

While we marvel at Elizabeth's long and successful reign, we also continue to question why she never married. In our class discussions, we have wondered at a plethora of reasons she avoided marriage throughout her life. Elizabeth found her success as a monarch in her independence. The explanation for her actions seems simple to us now because it represents "the deliberate, rational response of an intelligent woman to the practical problems of being a female ruler." The Privy Council believed Elizabeth's refusal to marry to be a "token of God's displeasure." These thoughts indicate that her advisers hoped to use her as a pawn to secure the bloodline and an alliance. It baffles me that many of her advisers and subjects were personally offended that she refused to conform to the traditional role of a submissive wife. However, as Susan Doran recognizes, Elizabeth's marital negotiations "reveal [her] great strength as a ruler."  While she remained well-advised in all her decisions, she is perhaps most admirable for her refusal to be manipulated and defined by the standards of her age.