To be a Nobody or a Somebody?

Have you ever wished to have power and status? Watch the movie, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”. Look at the majestic position she had and compare it with the life she went through. Is she happy with it? Or worse, is it worth it to sacrifice so much for the power? Perhaps you can even ask Creon in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and he will tell you this,

“Think of this first: Would any sane man prefer
Power, with all a king’s anxieties,
To that same power and the grace of sleep?
Certainly not I.
I have never longed for the king’s power – only his rights”

(Line 67 to Line 71 in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex)

Practically, we want to have the power, but not the responsibility. Tough luck, my friend. “With great power comes great responsibility”, as it is told to our super hero, Spiderman, and now it is to you.

The movie, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” had won many awards - Best Costume Design, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Art Direction and Production Design, etc. However, in my opinion, they have missed the award of the best script writer. One of the major factors that makes “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” a successful movie is their awesome script. It provides many meaningful quotes that give us food-for-thought within a few lines. Apparently, the writers, Michael Hirst and William Nicholson ought to be acknowledged too for their incredible writing skills.

What is a queen? Other than a female ruler or the wife of a king, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” suggests other meanings. A queen is a female ruler, who needs:

a) To lose her kindness: has to be cruel to be kind

Queen Elizabeth I: Are you here to tell me I must murder a Queen?

Sir Walter Raleigh: I would never presume to tell my Queen what to do. Only you know where your duty lies……

Sir Walter Raleigh: Kill a Queen and all Queens are mortal. We mortals have many weaknesses: we feel too much, hurt too much, all too soon we die, but we do have the chance of love.

Queen Elizabeth I: Do we? I have given England my life. Must she also have my soul?

b) To lose her peace of mind: faces threats and challenges, as well as overcomes fear of:

~ Losing her kingdom

Queen Elizabeth I: Go back to your rat hole! Tell Philip I fear neither him, nor his priests, nor his armies. Tell him if he wants to shake his little fist at us, we're ready to give him such a bite he'll wish he'd kept his hands in his pockets!

Spanish Minister: You see a leaf fall, and you think you know which way the wind blows. Well, there is a wind coming, Madame, that will sweep away your pride.
[turns to leave with his ministers]

Queen Elizabeth I: I, too, can command the wind, sir! I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare when you dare to try me!

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Queen Elizabeth I: By God, England will not fall while I am Queen.

~ Losing her throne and her life

Queen Elizabeth I: Spain intends to place Mary Stuart on our country's throne, and I am to be assassinated. Does this sound familiar?

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Queen Elizabeth I: May we have wisdom not to fear shadows in the night, and courage when the day of danger truly dawns.

c) To lose her freedom – as a slave to policy and others’ expectation.

Queen Elizabeth I: You like your ladies to jump at your command.

Sir Walter Raleigh: Do you think that way?

Queen Elizabeth I: To tell you the truth, I'm very very tired of always being in control.

Sir Walter Raleigh: Nonsense!

Queen Elizabeth I: What?

Sir Walter Raleigh: You eat and drink control.

d) To lose truthfulness and bear with artificiality of others

(A scene where Elizabeth Throckmorton gives advice to Sir Walter Raleigh on how to win the queen’s favour.)

Elizabeth Throckmorton: Say what you mean to say as plainly as possible. All men flatter the

Queen in hope of advancement. Pay her the compliment of truth.

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Sir Walter Raleigh: I think it must be hard for so great a Queen to know the simple pleasure of being liked for herself.

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Archduke Charles: The beauty of your Majesty is dazzling to my eyes. I am overwhelmed. I am conquered. I die. Only your love, my stattlich Elizabeth, can restore me into life.

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Queen Elizabeth I: [in German] You play the game very well, my young friend. But don't you sometimes feel an overwhelming desire to say what you're really thinking?

Archduke Charles: I daren't even think what I'm really thinking.

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Queen Elizabeth I: More lines on my face. Where do they come from?

Elizabeth Throckmorton: Smile lines, my lady.

Queen Elizabeth I: Smile lines? When do I ever smile?

In conclusion, having power and status is not as easy or great as it may seems to be. Similarly, Emily Dickinson discussed about it in her poem, “I’m Nobody, Who are You?” which mocks the life of a Somebody. Inevitably, we need to pay the price to get the prize. However, are we willing to buy it? For the price is our own happiness.

Looking at the world from her high, majestic position with sorrowful eyes