Characterization
It
is a well-known fact that everyone loves an underdog. Seeing someone beat the
odds and finish stronger than how they started is an ageless, heartwarming
story that can make everyone feel better about themselves. In the case of
queens, the underdog story is often seen as a rise to power from a typically
irrelevant status. These rags-to-riches stories can be found across multiple
centuries to explain how a queen got from point A to point B. Although there
are many ways for a queen to be written, her origin story is an important
addition as it will serve as the benchmark for her character as queen. Every
action can be blamed on one’s upbringing and an author can only do so much to
vilify a character if her upbringing is virtuous and uncontestable. A
rags-to-riches story can be either positive or negative; however, it all
depends on the character that the author is attempting to paint.
Esther is a classic example of a good queen whose humble past and beginnings not only demonstrate her as a virtuous and positive future queen, but whose origins also make her a better queen by giving her the ability to save her entire race. To begin, we know that Esther is a virtuous young maiden as those were the King’s requirements to be invited into the palace for the competition to be queen. Secondly, we know that she was also very pleasing to both look at and speak to as the king becomes taken with her rather quickly given the context of the situation -- namely that there are thousands of other pampered young women around the palace that the king is able to choose a queen from. It is known that Esther then proceeds to be a positive queen. She adheres to the rules, and she never incurs the wrath of the king. Esther’s humble beginnings also serve to differentiate her from other pretty, obedient queens. It gives her the ability to make a difference in the lives of her people. When the entire Jewish population is put a risk of being slaughtered mercilessly, she is able to exercise her power as queen to ensure that they remain safe. Given that she had to reveal her own personal identity -- the fact that she was Jewish -- in order to save her people makes her humble beginnings a very important aspect of her story and proves her to be a courageous and smart queen whose rags-to-riches story serves to boost her overall status as a great queen.
However, on the other hand, Theodora as written in Procopius’s secret history is the exact opposite of an Esther. Her humble beginnings show her to an actress and functionally a prostitute as a result. Procopius almost goes out of his way to explain that Theodora’s humble beginnings actually made her completely unfit to be an empress, and is further incensed by the fact Justinian had to write a law that would even allow someone from Theodora’s background to be allowed into the royal court. Given that he also sees many of Theodora’s actions as empress to be absolutely abhorrent, it can be seen that Theodora’s initial origins and her overall unworthiness to be empress because of them would also translate into many of her actions being seen as abhorrent and awful.
If wishing to show a true and virtuous and caring queen, then the rags-to-riches story of serves to show a humble beginning and explain that a queen was a virtuous person practically from birth. Occasionally, these humble beginnings help them make certain policy and political decisions later on, as in the case of Esther. However, when the author is attempting show a queen with a tarnished reputation, then that rags-to-riches story can serve to explain all the reason why that particular queen should not be allowed to wield the power that they have been trusted with. Despite these humble beginnings, these queens usually have a certain trait that either endears them to or exposes them to the man in power who then deems them worthy of marriage and queendom. These traits also inevitably vary based on how the author wishes to portray these queens. They can be beautiful, humble, and pious, or adulterous and manipulative. Overall, authors exploit the cliched rags-to-riches story to provide an early pathway into exploring the character of the queen. These origins stories can be used to provide a challenge for the queens that allow them to overcome the odds and become more successful and respected queen in the long run.
Esther is a classic example of a good queen whose humble past and beginnings not only demonstrate her as a virtuous and positive future queen, but whose origins also make her a better queen by giving her the ability to save her entire race. To begin, we know that Esther is a virtuous young maiden as those were the King’s requirements to be invited into the palace for the competition to be queen. Secondly, we know that she was also very pleasing to both look at and speak to as the king becomes taken with her rather quickly given the context of the situation -- namely that there are thousands of other pampered young women around the palace that the king is able to choose a queen from. It is known that Esther then proceeds to be a positive queen. She adheres to the rules, and she never incurs the wrath of the king. Esther’s humble beginnings also serve to differentiate her from other pretty, obedient queens. It gives her the ability to make a difference in the lives of her people. When the entire Jewish population is put a risk of being slaughtered mercilessly, she is able to exercise her power as queen to ensure that they remain safe. Given that she had to reveal her own personal identity -- the fact that she was Jewish -- in order to save her people makes her humble beginnings a very important aspect of her story and proves her to be a courageous and smart queen whose rags-to-riches story serves to boost her overall status as a great queen.
However, on the other hand, Theodora as written in Procopius’s secret history is the exact opposite of an Esther. Her humble beginnings show her to an actress and functionally a prostitute as a result. Procopius almost goes out of his way to explain that Theodora’s humble beginnings actually made her completely unfit to be an empress, and is further incensed by the fact Justinian had to write a law that would even allow someone from Theodora’s background to be allowed into the royal court. Given that he also sees many of Theodora’s actions as empress to be absolutely abhorrent, it can be seen that Theodora’s initial origins and her overall unworthiness to be empress because of them would also translate into many of her actions being seen as abhorrent and awful.
If wishing to show a true and virtuous and caring queen, then the rags-to-riches story of serves to show a humble beginning and explain that a queen was a virtuous person practically from birth. Occasionally, these humble beginnings help them make certain policy and political decisions later on, as in the case of Esther. However, when the author is attempting show a queen with a tarnished reputation, then that rags-to-riches story can serve to explain all the reason why that particular queen should not be allowed to wield the power that they have been trusted with. Despite these humble beginnings, these queens usually have a certain trait that either endears them to or exposes them to the man in power who then deems them worthy of marriage and queendom. These traits also inevitably vary based on how the author wishes to portray these queens. They can be beautiful, humble, and pious, or adulterous and manipulative. Overall, authors exploit the cliched rags-to-riches story to provide an early pathway into exploring the character of the queen. These origins stories can be used to provide a challenge for the queens that allow them to overcome the odds and become more successful and respected queen in the long run.
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