Queen Elizabeth Essay, Research Paper

Queen Elizabeth sacrificed many elements of her life for her country. She sacrificed her love, her dreams, and her most prized possession. She sacrificed her hair, which, during the Elizabethan Age was a woman’s most prized possession. Queen Elizabeth made the decision to forgo her beauty and all else in order to display her love for England. Perhaps the only man she ever loved, Sir Robert, was a married man whom the Queen was “forced” to distance herself from. Her life was in danger by many powerful individuals including the Pope. The Pope felt that Queen Elizabeth was a threat to his supremacy and for that he could not allow her to be powerful.

When Queen Elizabeth came to the throne her country was an impoverished and indebted one. During her long rule she turned her country into the most powerful nation on Earth. She made the choice to marry no one other than England. She therefore produced no heirs and her greatness lived on through the actions of others. Her rule was so amazing that it became known as the Golden Age (in England). Queen Elizabeth was an ordinary woman who wanted nothing more than to be happy. She never abused her power and when problems occurred they were handled not in a chaotic manner, but in quite a civilized one. In the movie Elizabeth there is a point in time when many people are murdered. At this time multiple people are trying to kill Elizabeth because of the death warrant the Pope had issued and therefore, the manner in which the situation was handled was nothing more than self-defense.

By cutting off her hair and wearing white makeup Elizabeth was purifying herself. She was “re-virginizing” herself which is a process entirely spiritual and not physical. Removing her hair was the most symbolic thing a queen could do. The cutting of her hair symbolized a new start for her. Her hair had been there to witness all of her sins and all of her life and certain things needed to be forgotten or not thought about. The white paste makeup symbolized both purity and the statue. The statue of the Virgin Mary was how Elizabeth desired to be; she desired to be looked upon as the statue was.