16 thoughts on “The Old Elizabeth I: Gross or Glorious?

  1. “You think Bette Davis would have let herself be put out there as a ‘grotesque old woman’??”

    Well, given that much was made of Davis’ personal decision to shave her eyebrows and her hairline back several inches, I don’t think she was interested in portraying a physically beautiful QEI. The studio wanted her to be Davis with her usual glamour, but in period costume.

    And she reveled in portraying a “grotesque old woman” in “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” to the extent of insisting on doing her own makeup to make sure Jane Hudson was grotesque enough.

    1. BTW, the photos of Davis and Robson in the text are from “The Virgin Queen” (1955) and “The Sea Hawk” (1940).

    2. “Well, given that much was made of Davis’ personal decision to shave her eyebrows and her hairline back several inches, I don’t think she was interested in portraying a physically beautiful QEI. The studio wanted her to be Davis with her usual glamour, but in period costume.”

      Exactly. The shaved eyebrows/forehead is one of the most iconic aspects about QEI’s look. Doing away with those “factual” elements of her features (in reality, it was probably just a high-forehead and fair eyebrows, at least until she was older) would render her as identifiable as if you cast a petite brunette as the 6-foot tall, red headed Mary, Queen of Scots.

      I’m looking at you, Reign.

    3. I’m with hsc. I DO see Bette Davis’ queen as grotesque. Magnificent and bejeweled and powerful yes, definitely. But I don’t see beauty or sexuality in that particular portrayal.

  2. I totally agree with what you wrote. I am totally Team Elizabeth. Therefore, I cringe at Hollywood’s inaccuracies in their portrayal of the Queen.

    Remember, she captivated Robert Devereaux Earl of Essex. He gave not a thought to her aging, until he saw her without her lead based makeup. Ergo, she must have done that to others of her court. That was part of her power.

    My favourite portrayals are without a doubt Dame Glenda Jackson and Dame Judi Dench. They conveyed both sexuality, age and power. I didn’t think Elizabeth portrayed by them was in any way grotesque. Instead, she was both the embodiment of sex, intelligence, power and beauty.

    Cate Blanchett was gorgeously dressed. But both movies were so inaccurate, I wanted to deprive the director and screenwriter of their Director’s Guild and Writer’s Guild memberships.

    1. I’ve always been of the opinion that what Elizabeth lacked in physical beauty, particularly as she aged, she made up for in sheer, terrifying magnificence. There were definitely aspects of Galadriel’s “All shall love me and despair” in her from the 1580s on, but there was also the undeniable charm and wit, and her intellectual prowess thrown into the mix. Those are qualities that do not fade with age (barring dementia, ofc) and it is pretty apparent from the historical record that she made excellent use of those right up until the end.

      In some ways, I feel like even focusing on her physical attractiveness is counterproductive, because she was the queen. She was de facto beautiful, even if she actually wasn’t. So, even if you assume that all the praise heaped on her physical beauty throughout her life was just a foregone conclusion because flattery will get you everywhere in court, her intellectual capabilities were far and away more important to her image and overall desirability.

      1. And there’s also the fact that we’re comparing her with other royalty. Elizabeth and Henry both WERE a hell of a lot more attractive than a lot of the other kings/queens out there. A mildly attractive person who is a politician is generally a knock out compared to the average politician. After all “politics is show business for ugly people.”

      2. Yes, intellect, power and sexuality without conventional beauty is why I’ve always put Flora Robeson as my favorite portrayal of Elizabeth.

    1. True, Duff’s Elizabeth is also a good example. It’s just hard to include every single portrayal of QEI and still keep the post a readable length. I tend to get lengthy and wordy. :P

  3. I think Queen Elizabeth must have been a lot less grotesque (or gross) than most people of her time who had the good fortune to reach their late sixties. Yes, she was a great queen, and even more, she knew how to act the part. I remember my first college history instructor saying that Elizabeth truly understood the role of a sovereign and that part of that role was to make herself loved. The same theme came up in graduate school discussions with friends who were specializing in early modern Europe. And I’m afraid I really don’t understand the idea that passing menopause makes a woman useless (unless you would agree that women exist only to bear babies). And Elizabeth had more important things to do!
    The whole concept of “relatability” is bizarre. Why bother watching a historical film, or reading a historical novel (or even some popular nonfiction), if the real people portrayed are going to behave like clueless contemporary adolescents in fancy (inaccurate) costumes?
    There’s a very nice portrayal of the older Elizabeth, by the way, in P.F. Chisholm’s novel An Air of Treason.

    1. “I have the heart and stomach of a King.”

      My favorite quote from Elizabeth I and a statement that totally sums her up.

  4. I’m with hsc. I DO see Bette Davis’ queen as grotesque. Magnificent and bejeweled and powerful yes, definitely. But I don’t see beauty or sexuality in that particular portrayal.

    I do not recall anyone describing Elizabeth I as a “beautiful” woman, even when she was young. She had other qualities that made her attractive to men – vibrancy, wit, charm, and sexiness. But I do not think anyone would have described her as beautiful.

    I find it hard to regard Bette Davis or Judi Dench’s portrayal of Elizabeth as “grotesque”. Both of them portrayed the queen during the 1590s, when the latter was in her 60s.

  5. Elizabeth was never beautiful, as she said herself, yet she had the reputation of a beauty. Like her mother Anne Boleyn Elizabeth had charisma and an allure that had little to do with her physical appearance. She was still fascinating ambassadors and courtiers to the very end. One moment they’d be mercilessly describing the ravages of time, the next they’d be talking about her fascination and the ‘unmistakable remnants of beauty’.

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