The difference between the reality of Sweden's Thirty Year's War as presented by Holly Wood vs its historical reality is that its epistemology unlike its result was unclear. It represented a Europe at war with Europe due to blatant conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism during the modern period of world history. The film's heroine King Christina begins her reign as a child. It's after her introduction that we re-encounter her as a young woman about to be betrothed. What we find is that she has become a no nonsense, confident and competent woman that is well respected by her peers and subordinates. As stated by Ruth Stephen writer of the article Christina "One of the wittiest and most learned women of her age, Christina is best remembered for her lavish sponsorship of the arts and her influence on European culture." (Christina, Britannica June 09, 2017). It's not until she questions the peasants about the effect of war upon the peasantry that her ruler-ship is challenged by her court due to her willingness to offer Sweden's enemies acceptable terms of peace that her higher ranking court members are openly opposed to. It's possible that her nobles' opposition to her proposal was caused by the Holy Roman emperor, Ferdinand II, in his role as king of Bohemia, in an attempt to impose Roman Catholic absolutism on his domains, which caused Protestant nobles of both Bohemia and Austria rose up in rebellion. (Hermann Aubin, Judith Eleanor Herrin 2017 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.) A brilliant, strong willed, assiduous politician: though not able to fix Sweden's financial problems, she was able to prevent the bitter class rivalries that existed within her country from causing it to slide into civil war. Interestingly, Holly Wood does not mention this fact within the film; instead Holly Wood insists upon reducing Christina to the Anglo-Saxon of the conquerable woman.
It's her question of marriage to the national hero and her interactions with Aage, and Ebba who later disappoints her when she discovers that Ebba resents her domination over her and prefers to love and be dominated by a man instead of the queen that causes us to question her sexuality. In terms of gender It's easier to perceive King Christina as a man than instead of a woman. Without becoming overly psychological in our perspective of Christina's and Ebba's relationship, what we should focus upon is Christina's desire to not only purposefully and effectively serve her people, but to raise the bar of leadership above that of its current day. Instead the film chooses to focus upon her inability to be both woman and Monarch; while insinuating that Christina was a potential lesbian. According to Kaurismäki “It was actually quite normal for women to have intimate relationships at the time, because all the men were at war. So I think it was tolerated, but it wasn’t recognized as a lesbian relationship,” (Kaurismaki 06.11.2012). However, its been stated throughout this article and others that Queen Christina did not possess this inability; instead it is demonstrated that her conversion to Catholicism which would have been perceived as defection to Sweden's enemies. According to BAWER New York Times "supposedly secret reason why she abdicated because she wanted to convert from the state religion of Lutheran to Roman Catholicism" (Lesbian News 2015; Bawer, NYT. Nov. 7, 2004).
The second time that Christina's gender is questioned is when she provides efficient guidance and leadership when removing a wagon from a ditch. When she encounters the Spanish Ambassador we are reminded of the interaction that occurs between a masculine gay man and a masculine lesbian. What is profoundly disturbing is that like most women in film's of this era she is reduced to a sexual object that is enamoured with masculinity. Thus, a woman fixated upon the power of male sexuality. As we know from Christina's history, this portrayal of Queen Christina is both sexist and narcissistic ( extreme lover of self ).
The Spanish lover who desires her as a woman and resents parting with her makes two very interesting statements about her. There is a mystery about you; she responds isn't there about every human being; it is within language itself that Garbo as Christina pushes us into the Lacanian knot of the imagery, symbolic and the real. The other is that she comes from an extremely convential home that she desires to escape due to its constraints upon her. He states that this is understandable. After meeting the Spanish lover at court, he is dismayed by her true identity. However, It's her love affair with Antonio that causes her to fall from grace with her people due to Magnus's machinations; that have transformed her loyal subjects into an unruly mob. What becomes evident in the mob scene is that Christina is an excellent states woman. The mind boggling delimma is that the Swedes state that they do not want a Spanish ruler, yet they insist that Christina marries King Phillip, King of Spain. So what is the problem with her having a love affair with Antonio? The problem is that Magnus desires not Chistina, but to rule Sweden through any means necessary. If we were to assign a character description of Magnus, it would be that of borderline personality disorder.
Its later in the movie that Christina abjacates the throne in order to follow her heart. It should be remembered that she made the statement that she was tired of " being a symbol, a thing that is unchanging and apart from humanity." She unaware of Magnus's and Antonio's duel until Antonio is brought to her onboard ship where he dies. What should be considered that Holly Wood does not put forth in its presentation of King Christina is that all individuals desire to be loved, accepted and acknowledged for who they are; not for what we want them to be.
Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)
Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc.
'Christina, Queen of Sweden': A Royal Mess
By BRUCE BAWERNOV. 7, 2004
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Dec. 31, 2017
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The idea of the "mirror stage" is an important early component in Lacan ...
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