Dear Reader,
As I was going into this project, I immediately knew I wanted Mary I, solely for the fact her nickname was "Bloody Mary". I had an idea of what earned her the nickname, the fact that she ruthlessly persecuted Protestants. But I also had a theory that she just didn't persecute them out of sheer hatred, something had to have had happened to her to trigger it.
During the course of my research I learned that Mary had a pre-existing mental condition, and was also abused in her childhood. I also learned of her tenuous relationship with her half-sister Elizabeth and how completely devastated Mary was, when England broke from the Catholic Church. I also learned that she desperately longed for a child, so much so that she caused her body to produce a phantom pregnancy, which is when your body gives all the signs that you are pregnant for the full nine months, but you truly aren't.
What I discovered, is that there was actual depth to this infamous queen. She was not a static villain in a story, but a woman who had a tragic past. When one delves into the history of this tragic queen you begin to realize that not everything you thought you knew is true, and that everything is not black and white, but shades of grey.
Sincerely,
Madison Pollihan
During the course of my research I learned that Mary had a pre-existing mental condition, and was also abused in her childhood. I also learned of her tenuous relationship with her half-sister Elizabeth and how completely devastated Mary was, when England broke from the Catholic Church. I also learned that she desperately longed for a child, so much so that she caused her body to produce a phantom pregnancy, which is when your body gives all the signs that you are pregnant for the full nine months, but you truly aren't.
What I discovered, is that there was actual depth to this infamous queen. She was not a static villain in a story, but a woman who had a tragic past. When one delves into the history of this tragic queen you begin to realize that not everything you thought you knew is true, and that everything is not black and white, but shades of grey.
Sincerely,
Madison Pollihan