Just a quick question and I apologise if it's a silly one, but why did the young boy who was given the unloaded pistol to assasinate Elizabeth shout "whore!" at her?
Bearing in mind she was known as being unmarried and the "Virgin Queen."
Many thanks.
Anthony Babington (the young boy) is a papist trying to kill Elizabeth for being a heretic (Anglican) and to replace her with the "true" Catholic sovereign, ie. Mary of Scots.
He doesn't consider Elizabeth to be the rightful Queen of England, only a usurper.
In the first movie, Elizabeth is a
Born again virgin
Also, she was Sleeping with a married man (She didn't know this fact.)
There was also something about her Mother being a "whore" and it just gave Elizabeth a sort of scarlet letter, as well.
I highly doubt she was a virgin.
It was well known among the people that she had several affairs, not only with Raleight and Dudley (the most known) but also with many men of the court.
There are legends that even go far and said the she was the mother of Shakespeare (but that's just a legend, of course).
But that don't make her a whore, by the way. It makes her a woman unable to commit with a man.
She was most definitely NOT a virgin! Her amorous affairs were well known and is still known by historians today. Even into her seventies she still had young lovers. Mother of Shakespeare is quite a cool legend thouhg! :)
I don't agree with your last statement though. I don't think she was a woman who couldn't commit to one man, but was a woman who refused to share power with anyone, least of all a husband. And marrying wouldn't have meant "committment" either for one such as her, kings and queens are well known to have often had lovers and mistresses.
Even into her seventies she still had young lovers. Mother of Shakespeare is quite a cool legend thouhg! :)
Thanks, yes. I meant into her sixties... lol
shareI don't think she was a woman who couldn't commit to one man, but was a woman who refused to share power with anyone, least of all a husband.
But that don't make her a whore, by the way.
If you read the Bible, you will find that the word "whore" is hardly ever used in a sexual context (although there are some verses where it is used that way). Rather, it usually is used to refer to spiritual whoredom (i.e adopting pagan practices or outright converting to pagan religions, "selling your soul" if you will). So even though she is a virgin physically, she is a "whore" in a spiritual/religious context in the eyes of the Catholics.
shareAmyJune1989 said:
"So even though she is a virgin physically, she is a "whore" in a spiritual/religious context in the eyes of the Catholics."
I disagree, at least in large part. In all of the books I have read, documentaries I have watched, and websites I have visited, there is no reference to Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII (or, for that matter, his son Edward), being called a "whore" - when it was he himself who founded the Church of England and turned his back on Rome and Catholicism. (It was Henry's wife, Anne Boleyn, however, who was branded as the "whore".)
All of this indicates that "whore" is reserved solely for women who do things that other people don't like - whether or not those actions are sexual in nature. However, the tone of sexual policing of women cannot be separated from that word.
**Have an A1 day**
Absolutely, well said . Men say 'whore' , 'slut', 'skank' etc etc indiscriminately about women no matter what their sexual status or experience is (or isn't). It's a handy, catchall mysogynist term intended to insult and demean, whenever any woman does anything bold or outrageous, or god forbid, demonstrates superiority or authority over some man.
shareWell to the papists, she probably was. They tend to get a bit tetchy with sins of the flesh.
shareHe was just hurling a rather ironic insult at her before he pulled the trigger.🐭
share