Known as the “Nine-Day Queen,” Lady Jane Grey’s reputation mainly revolves around her brief reign as the Queen of England and her subsequent execution. Her young age at the time of death and the minimal primary accounts of her life have left much of Grey’s life up to speculation and exaggeration. Some historians depict her as a beautiful, intelligent, yet demure woman whose unfortunate circumstances led to her end - as one anonymous author vividly writes, “the soul of Lady Jane Grey passed into its everlasting rest, and the fairest, wisest head in all the English realm fell from under the gleaming axe.” In contrast, other scholars, such as Edith Snooks, portray her as a strongly independent and influential female martyr who “through her writing… …show more content…
Her childhood was not unconventional for a child in a strict Tudor family, with a focus on education and marriage. Grey was not particularly talented in any aspect although she was noted to be a good student: she was recorded by her tutor to have been reading Plato and speaking in eight languages, - however these claims may have been exaggerated by her tutor. Although she was considerably far down the line to the throne, she was close to her cousin Edward VI, King of England and son of the infamous Henry VIII. He was invited to Grey’s wedding but was unable to make it due to his deteriorating health. Towards the end of his life, he diverted the succession from his step-sisters Mary and Elizabeth to Jane because of one man’s influence: the Duke of Northumberland. The Duke was a man of high ambitions who sought political power for his family. In addition to convincing Edward VI to change the throne, he planned the arranged marriage between Lady Jane Grey and his fourth son Lord Guildford Dudley- therefore putting Dudley next in line as King upon Edward VI’s death. The Duke of Northumberland’s scheme failed and Queen Mary assumed the crown after nine days of Lady Jane Grey’s reign. Queen Mary promptly executed the Duke of Northumberland, Lord Guildford Dudley, and Lady Jane Grey, who was only sixteen at the time. In the end, Lady Jane Grey left little historical and political impact on England due to the limited span of her
On Sept. 7th 1533, Elizabeth, the daughter of King Henry was born. The King of England wasn’t as thrilled since she wasn’t a boy, who would mean an heir to the throne, but it was still okay. Due to the fact that after 2 more births that resulted in death, Anne Boleyn was beheaded in 1936 when Elizabeth was only 3 years old. As her father continued to remarry, divorce, and execute his wives, one more child would be born, resulting to Elizabeth having one sister, Mary, and a new born brother named Edward. After Edward was born, his mother Jane died. She was known for being the one wife that Henry actually loved. Elizabeth grew into a very smart girl. She was known as Bess as times spoke Latin, French, German, and Henry gave her a tutor to study with. Along with everything else, she developed a temper that would help her later on as being a Queen.
Jane’s life at Moor house was the depiction of stability. During her time there she created a name for herself. First, she worked as a respectable teacher, helping develop the minds of young children. Then, she crafted friendships for the first time with
The book, The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories, written by Elizabeth A. De Wolfe, is composed of two parts. Part one, The Death of Berngera Caswell, analysis’s the social history of the mid 1800’s to explore a mill girl’s life. This text makes use of general trends and factual information to support and provide an explanation of the murder of Mary Bean. Part two is composed of two stories, Mary Bean, The Factory Girl and Life of George Hamilton. This text explores the cultural history of the mid 1800’s using fictional newspapers, articles, and novels as support. The Murder of Mary Bean does not only provide the reader with the gruesome detail of one murder, this book issues an understanding of the complications
When attempting to write an interesting and appealing work of historical fiction, an author may compromise the historical truth behind the story in order to attract readers. Usually, authors can be very true to the history behind the person or event that they are writing about. Yet, sometimes, works of historical fiction are glamorized in order to make the story more appealing. The novel, The White Queen, by Philippa Gregory was not an accurate representation of the life of Elizabeth Woodville because of its continual usage of historical rumors and unproven facts rather than factual information. In this book, Philippa Gregory introduced Elizabeth Woodville, the Queen of England during the late 1400’s and her fascinating story. Elizabeth’s life was surrounded by mystery, since her sons disappeared from the Tower of London in the end of the fifteenth century, and to this day, no one is sure of what happened to them. Elizabeth’s life was laced with rumor, especially the rumor of her use of witchcraft.
Henry VIII wanted a male to take the throne when he passed away. He paved the way for his son Edward. After Edward died in 1553 Elizabeth found herself once again in political intrigue. [Elizabeth’s older sister, M...
In the 18th century, Sarah Grosvenor’s death was under a spotlight operated by the court system in Connecticut (Women in America, 117). The reasoning behind this focus on her death was very unusual for her time, the abortion that eventually led to her death. Grosvenor was involved with much older Amasa Session...
Elizabeth’s relationship with her elder male cousin, the Duke of Norfolk, was not good at all. The Duke of Norfolk wanted to kill Elizabeth because he wanted to become the king of England. Becoming the king of England was impossible while Elizabeth was still the queen. When Mary was on her deathbed with cancer the Duke of Norfolk tried to get Mary to sign a paper that would allow him to kill Elizabeth and become King of England. The Duke of Norfolk would speak against Queen Elizabeth and try to turn England against her. At one meeting she had to lock him and his men up so he wouldn’t cause a disturbance. They both had their differences.
It was the death of Edward VI, in 1553, that brought about the realization of Henry VIII’s nightmare of having no male heirs. Although Edward attempted to keep his sister’s out of the will (he did not want his Catholic oldest sister, Mary, to have control of the Protestant country he had inherited from his father) and appoint Jane Grey as heir. However Mary quickly declared herself queen at her manor Kenninghall on July 9, 15531. Jane’s feeble claim,passing over Mary, Elizabeth, Mary Stuart, and her mother, could have been declared Edward’s desire, however his council’s authority died along with him. Northumberland, the man behind Jane’s campaign, also did an about face at Cambridge, supporting Mary’s claim to the throne. This was due to his forces being wreaked by deserters. However Mary showed no mercy and he was executed in August as a traitor, along with Sir John Gates and Sir Thomas Palmer.
Mary becomes queen after the death of her younger brother, Edward. Mary could be categorized as mean spirited and vengeful. She also proves herself mentally unstable by making herself think she is pregnant twice and making sure the country goes along with it. Some of the actions that prove her hostile behavior are by having common people burned at the stake and others executed. Queen Mary is apprehensive of being overthrown, so she threatens any person that tries to harm her. She even imprisons her sister in the Tower of London because of her paranoia of being overthrown.
This novel was one of the most radical books of the Victorian Era. It portrayed women as equals to men. It showed that it was possible that men could even be worse than women, through John and Jane. It taught the Victorians never to judge a book by its cover. The novel would not be as successful were it not for Charlotte Brontë’s talent in writing, and were it not for the literary devices employed.
Jane Fairfax is a minor character in Emma who is a Bates woman. After Miss Campbell’s marriage to Mr. Dixon, Jane returns to Highbury. Emma, who is the main heroine in the text, shows her dislike towards Jane in many ways. Emma thinks that Jane’s position in society is lower than hers and it is not expres...
Jane Eyre has been acclaimed as one of the best gothic novels in the Victorian Era. With Bronte’s ability to make the pages come alive with mystery, tension, excitement, and a variety of other emotions. Readers are left with rich insight into the life of a strong female lead, Jane, who is obedient, impatient, and passionate as a child, but because of the emotional and physical abuse she endures, becomes brave, patient, and forgiving as an adult. She is a complex character overall but it is only because of the emotional and physical abuse she went through as a child that allowed her to become a dynamic character.
Jane Austen Society of North America, Inc. A Brief Biography. jasna.org. 26 April. 2014.
Given the background of Victorian motherhood, the nourishment, teachings, and support from the mother are never really present in Jane’s life. Placing other women in her life are able to fill the void where her mother would have been, but never fill the void as a mother really would.
Similar to many of the great feministic novels of its time, Jane Eyre purely emerges as a story focused on the quest for love. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, searches not only for the romantic side of love, but ultimately for a sense of self-worth and independence. Set in the overlapping times of the Victorian and Gothic periods, the novel touches upon both women’s supposed rights, and their inner struggle for liberty. Orphaned at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle, without any major parent roles to guide her through life’s obstacles. Instead, she spent much of her adolescent years locked in imaginary chains, serving those around her but never enjoying the many decadences life has to offer. It is not until Jane becomes a governess that many minute privileges become available to her and offer Jane a glance at what life could have been. It is on her quest for redemption and discovery that she truly is liberated. Throughout Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre, the story’s protagonist Jane, struggles to achieve the balance of both autonomy and love, without sacrificing herself in the process.