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| | | From: ForeverAmber (Original Message) | Sent: 6/23/2004 11:29 PM |
Been much speculation about this in every MQOS book I look at, so I thought I would toss it out for discussion here. In the matter of Mary's alleged abduction & rape at the hands of Bothwell.....whatcha think? It's been said she colluded with him in it to justify remarrying so soon after Darnley's death, but I am thinking MQOS was just not that smart LOL tho Bothwell may have been. And if it was not prearranged & Bothwell really DID rape her....why the HELL would she consent to marry him when everyone from Elizabeth on down was telling her what a baaaaad idea it was?  |
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I read recently (darn it, which book was it??) the idea that MQOS was bi-polar - AKA manic-depressive. It kind of fits - times of being relentlessly "up" - followed by times of deep depression, inablity to make decisions or even get out of bed. Bothwell, it seems, was the strongest personality around her and she seemed to be under his spell. Wasn't he even accused of enslaving her through witchcraft? (Which it was how it would have seemed at the time) Anyway, my thought was, that when she was depressed, she would have allowed someone else to make all decisions for her, and it seems the rape-marriage was EB's idea. Also, wasn't her father subject to fits of depression, esp. before he died. And her son, also. Am I right in that? (kind of lost interest in the Stuarts after MQOS!) Anyway, I'll try to rustle up that book and find the direct quote. Interesting discussion topic. |
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i think her life was enough to cause ups and downs so i don't put too much stock in the manic depression idea. as for the rape, if it was rape, obviously she couldn't publicize that fact herself due to the times and she would've maybe married to retain her honor? what a laughable idea nowdays! |
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I dunno....she seemed ferociously defensive of Bothwell up until she miscarried while in captivity at Lochleven, & then it seems like she could have cared less about him & kept trying to get her marriage annulled so shecould glom onto Norfolk. Maybe she was worried she was pregnant after being raped & wanted to ensure the legitmacy of the Scots succession? I know that is why she decided not to get her marriage to Darnley annulled even though she couldn't stand him, because she did not want any doubts as to the legitmacy of their son. |
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The timeline is interesting: (taken from Antonia Fraser) - February 9-10, explosion at Kirk o'Field
- March 23, end of 40-day mourning
- April 12, "trial" of Bothwell, he is acquitted
- April 16, Mary rides publicly to Parliament, the trial is officially declared just according to the laws of the land. Grants of land are confirmed, including the land that went with Dunbar Castle going to Bothwell.
- April 19, Bothwell hosts 28 nobles at Ainsle's Tavern, the infamous bond is signed
- April 20, Bothwell visits Mary at Seton, presents her with the bond and his request that they marry. She turns him down.
- April 21, Mary arrives at Stirling, spends two days with James (the last time she will see him)
- April 23, Mary starts back to Edinburgh, takes ill, and stays the night at Lithingow
- April 24 (9th anniversary of her marriage to Francis) Bothwell meets up with the Queen's party 6 miles from Edinburgh, leads her to Dunbar.
Now, he works fast! Mary must have been overwhelmed. Did she take comfort in the signed bond, thinking that her lords would be behind this marriage? They married on May 15 - could she have been sure that she was pregnant in that short of a time. Not that she couldn't be, but how could she be sure that she was? I'm not sure that her pregnancy could be a factor in agreeing to the marriage. It must be the rape itself. Unless you think she knew about the abduction..... terri*lee |
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That is what the Scots lords bruited about, that Mary had connived in her own abduction in order to satisfy her "passion" for Bothwell; Lennox seemed to think she cheated on Darnley with him. But if you look at Bothwell's history of service & loyalty to the crown, he really was not a bad choice of husband. He successfully maintained order in the Borders, stayed loyal to Mary of Guise's regency, had a strong standing army at his command, & enough ruthlessness of character to make a strong king. Mary trusted him enough to put him in charge of protecting her son. Didn't he also help Mary escape from whatshisname, that lunatic who had also tried to abduct & marry her.....drat I cannot remember who it was, was it one of the Hamiltons or one of the Gordons? At any rate, even tho they signed the infamous Ainslie's Tavern Bond, methinks the lords just did not want that much power consolidated in the hands of one man, especially one like Bothwell who could not be so easily controlled. Would be interesting to know what exactly happened in those 5 days between that & Mary's abduction! Supposedly she turned Bothwell's proposal down at first. |
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