The Counter-image of the Patient Grissel in Edward I － An Homage to Queen Elizabeth I －

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  • 『エドワード1 世』における反グリゼルダ表象 ―エリザベス女王へのオマージュ―
  • 『 エドワード 1セイ 』 ニ オケル ハン グリゼルダ ヒョウショウ : エリザベス ジョオウ エ ノ オマージュ

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The dramatic characterization of Queen Elinor in George Peele’s Edward I has been highly controversial among critics. Unlike the historical accounts, the Queen cruelly murders the wife of the Lord Mayor of London, and confesses that she had an illicit affair with King Edward’s brother, Edmund. Mary Axton suggests that such a distorted image of Elinor, who was a queen of Spanish origin, reflects the then counterargument against the justification of the succession of the Spanish Infanta, which is alleged in Conference about the Next Succession to the Crown of Ingland printed in 1594. However, Edward I is not a real history play but a historical romance, as seen in the battle with Robin Hood in the Welsh scene. Moreover, Queen Elinor, who is an unruly wife, often disdains English wool and is proud of her foreign and expensive fabrics. This is the very counter-image of the patient Grissel, who is willing to obey her husband’s tyrannical demands and wear anything he wants her to wear. The story of Grissel was very popular among Elizabethan audiences. Furthermore,according to several documents, Queen Elizabeth I was often associated with Grissel. It is therefore considered that the negative image of Queen Elinor was an indirect homage to Queen Elizabeth I.

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