The Heart and Stomach of a King
Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power
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- $28.99
Publisher Description
In her famous speech to rouse the English troops staking out Tilbury at the mouth of the Thames during the Spanish Armada's campaign, Queen Elizabeth I is said to have proclaimed, "I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king." Whether or not the transcription is accurate, the persistent attribution of this provocative statement to England's most studied and celebrated queen illustrates some of the contradictions and cultural anxieties that dominated the collective consciousness of England during a reign that lasted from 1558 until 1603.
In The Heart and Stomach of a King, Carole Levin explores the myriad ways the unmarried, childless Elizabeth represented herself and the ways members of her court, foreign ambassadors, and subjects represented and responded to her as a public figure. In particular, Levin interrogates the gender constructions, role expectations, and beliefs about sexuality that influenced her public persona and the way she was perceived as a female Protestant ruler. With a new introduction that situates the book within the emerging genre of cultural biography, the second edition of The Heart and Stomach of a King offers insight into the continued fascination with Elizabeth I and her reign.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This study uses Elizabeth Tudor's life to show ``the intersection of politics with gender, of sexuality with power,'' but its real strength is the intriguing portrait of Elizabeth Levin constructs from anecdotes, trivia and gossip often overlooked or dismissed by traditional biographies. A study of Elizabeth I, who successfully ruled England when women were considered too ``feeble and foolish'' to manage their own private affairs, can tell much about power and gender expectations, but too often this book shapes the material to fit the thesis. Concerning the healing royal touch ritual, we're told: ``One can see, however, the gendered nature of the way she approached these ceremonies,'' although Elizabeth doesn't seem to have acted differently from her male predecessors. Similarly, a full chapter isn't needed to convince the reader of a sexual double standard where male and female rulers were concerned and that rumors about Elizabeth's wantonness reflected public unease with a female ruler. Despite some awkward repetitions, this study of how the public responded to Elizabeth and to her extraordinarily successful reign will appeal to anyone interested in Elizabeth Tudor or, more generally, women in power.
