“Tragic Heroines”, “Hapless Victims”, and “Beheaded Queens”: Examining the emergence of ‘Victim Queens’ within academic and popular historiography produced during nineteenth-century queenship studies.
“Tragic Heroines”, “Hapless Victims”, and “Beheaded Queens”: Examining the emergence of ‘Victim Queens’ within academic and popular historiography produced during nineteenth-century queenship studies. -- by Darcy R. Keim, MA Chapter One Introduction -The Ingredients of a Victim Queen- Titles such as ‘tragic queenship’ are structured by the manner in which historiography contextualises women of ill-fated rule. Alongside this study is a widespread desire to typify the roles of women. As a definition, ‘tragic queen’ specifically cites female monarchs who have undergone exceptional hardships. A recurrent example are queens who have been imprisoned; such as Joan of Navarre. However - reflective of historiography - it ought to be argued that ‘tragic queenship’ has evolved as an umbrella-term; inclusive of all ill-fated models of queenship. The intention of this study aims to focus on ‘victim queens’ as an explicit sub-genre. The differentiation between ‘tragic’ and ‘victim’ exam...