Wednesday, October 28, 1998
Elizabeth I’s saga continues tonight at Borders
LECTURE: Discussion, initiated by UCLA professors, delves into
private affairs of English queen
By Kate Herold
Daily Bruin Contributor
English Professor Jayne Lewis divides people she meets in the
manner of a true Renaissance woman.
"There are two kinds of people in this world," Lewis says.
"Elizabeth people and Mary people. I have to say that I am more of
a Mary person."
Regardless of Lewis’ personal preference, Elizabeth I is the
subject of a discussion Lewis will lead tonight at 7:30 at Borders
bookstore.
The story of a powerful queen, her controversial public image
and the relationship she shared with a rival she never even met
began last week with a discussion led by one of Lewis’ fellow UCLA
English professors, Lowell Gallager.
The impetus for these discussions is the film "Elizabeth," which
will be released by Gramercy Pictures on Nov. 6. The film stars
Elizabeth Blanchett as the popular and controversial English
queen.
The talks given by the UCLA professors will be accompanied by
costumes from the movie and a slide show, as well as the
opportunity to win prizes.
Gallager’s lecture explored the public image of Elizabeth and
how her struggle to maintain a positive public persona greatly
influenced her reign.
But it’s the sexy, down-and-dirty details of Elizabeth’s life
that reel in the public. Like her soiled inheritors – battling
public humiliation and divorce – Elizabeth, too, has come under the
scrutinous eye of the ’90s.
"I hope the professor tells us about all of Elizabeth’s dirty
laundry, the stuff they don’t tell us in school," says an
interested Jose Nunez, a third-year psychology student.
A monarch’s typical struggle for positive public appeal beyond
the rumor mill was, for Elizabeth, harder because she was a woman.
During his lecture, Gallager discussed Elizabeth’s effort to
overcome the biases placed on her because of her sex.
Rich Carter, the event’s organizer, explained that Borders and
Gramercy Pictures chose to commission these lectures by UCLA
professors to let prospective viewers of "Elizabeth" learn more
about the queen as an individual before watching the film.
Lewis’ lecture topic focuses not only on Queen Elizabeth I, but
on the ruler’s lifetime rival, Mary, Queen of Scots.
"My idea is that you can’t really understand Elizabeth and her
rule," says Lewis, "unless you understand her relationship to Mary,
Queen of Scots."
Professor Lewis, who just completed a book on Mary, Queen of
Scots, says she feels sympathetic toward the woman who lived her
life in Elizabeth’s shadow. Lewis feels that even though Elizabeth
and Mary never met, there was still an emotional bond between
them.
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was a Catholic, thus placing her in
direct opposition to Elizabeth’s Protestant tendencies.
She and Elizabeth were half-sisters, the daughters of Henry
Tudor, yet they never met.
Lewis chose to talk about Mary’s impact on Elizabeth despite the
fact that the film does not feature Mary as a lead character.
"My idea," says Lewis, "is that the movie leaves her out because
if she were left in, it would be a lot harder to sympathize with
Elizabeth."
It’s about time that there’s all this talk about the "virgin
queen," who was thus named because she chose to remain unmarried.
Elizabeth used this unmarried status to her advantage, pitting
suitors from different countries against each other.
The queen’s eventual popularity resulted in her almost 45-year
reign – dubbed the "Elizabethan Age." That’s a lot of dirty
laundry.
DISCUSSION: The last lecture on Elizabeth I takes place at 7:30
p.m. in the Westwood Borders bookstore.Discussion, initiated by
UCLA professors, delves into private affairs of English queen
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