What do you see as the most and least enviable aspects of Queen Victoria's life?
Created: 01/11/17
Replies: 15
Join Date: 10/15/10
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Join Date: 03/12/14
Posts: 19
Most enviable was all the wealth she had and the trappings that came with it. But she was not free to do or go where she wanted. She was not educated for the world she lived in or her place in it. Victoria had tremendous responsibility at 18 and never got to live the life she wanted.
Join Date: 05/08/11
Posts: 113
The most enviable aspect was the position she held as Queen and the life style she led because of the wealth and power of her position. Compared to the life of the average woman in England she was able to make decisions, live a life of luxury, simply to "choose". Women (and men) in England had very limited choices concerning their jobs, place of abode, education, etc, etc.
The least enviable aspect was ALSO the limited choices she was able to make. Her life was circumscribed by her birth just as the scullery maid in the kitchen was limited in her opportunitites.
Join Date: 01/16/12
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Join Date: 02/08/16
Posts: 505
The wealth and position of queen were certainly enviable. She was certainly on a pedestal, above all others. However, she was more of a figurehead than she first realized. The real power was with the politicians. I think she learned to maneuver well with the initial help of Melbourne.
Join Date: 01/15/17
Posts: 16
Victoria's sheer unpreparedness for her role as Queen was astonishing. She was no more educated than any other titled woman of her day and possibly less so. SHe was subjected to the machinations of court and family members to shape she actions and choices to their advantage. Even when she recognized the manipulation, she also saw her limitations. Despite her attraction to the Grand Duke Alexander she acknowledged it as a diplomatic impossibility. Fortunately, as her infatuation with Lord M was not to last, Albert was presented at the right moment. She was able to grow into her role under tutelage and then with her admiration for Elizabeth I intact embrace her destiny.
Join Date: 07/13/16
Posts: 26
Join Date: 04/25/12
Posts: 51
Like so many born to royalty, her life was not her own: she was a prisoner of her position and times. She was almost never alone and always on display. Contrast this to her position of privilege and the great wealth and power she had. Would I want her life? No.
Join Date: 02/05/16
Posts: 362
As so many others have noted, the most and least enviable aspects are one and the same: the enormous wealth bringing with it a coddled life style, which means on the other hand, that she can never act on her own, doing whatever she wants.. Or to put it another way, the illusion of great power and comfort which is actually very constrained and brings with it great responsibility to bear all manner of discomfort without complaint. And all of it in a fishbowl of public scrutiny.
Join Date: 06/15/11
Posts: 222
The court politics. Having to think out every step you take to know how it will "look" to everyone else, as well as the real consequences of your actions .... at a very young age ... would have been just terrible. I wondered as I read the book how her life would have been different as a young prince. Many of the same problems yet being a woman certainly complicated her life. She did an admirable job of powering through the barriers.
Join Date: 01/25/16
Posts: 183
Having the wealth and power to do what you want would be an enviable privilege. However, as queen, Victoria actually couldn't do what she really wanted to, because of expectations and "do's and don't's" of royalty and politics of the time. Living one's life under a microscope, with absolutely everything one does and says being scrutinized, is definitely not a pleasant way to live. Also, there seemed to be so many people trying to manipulate her for their own purposes.
Join Date: 10/25/12
Posts: 83
I feel that the most envious aspect of Queen Victoria's life would be the meeting of so many powerful, influential people. Also, the experiences and knowledge that her position as queen brought to her. The scrutiny and loneliness she had to live with would be difficult to bear; along with her lack of privacy.
Join Date: 10/29/14
Posts: 26
Best and worst is probably the same thing, but at different ends of the spectrum. By her birthright, she was given a great sense of security and power, but the same birthright meant that she was treated in a way that demeaned her in many ways (over-bearing mother and advisors), and that she had to fight for a lot of freedom that most of the rest of us can have without thinking much about it.
Join Date: 04/12/12
Posts: 294
I'm not sure there was anything I found enviable. She was coddled but kept in the dark about life. She had people waiting on her, I guess, that might be okay but would get tiresome. She was really a prisoner of protocol and those trying to manipulate her.
Join Date: 11/14/11
Posts: 160
Least enviable: for much of her young life she was a pawn in a real life game of thrones, used by her mother, Conroy, and the rest of the Hanovers. Most navigable: living with the great art, wearing gorgeous clothes before Albert's death, and the jewels.
Join Date: 08/29/13
Posts: 102
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