Mary Stuart

Politics has been an area where the most problematic aspects of human character have been expressed throughout history. It is an area where impulses such as the struggle to gain and maintain power, the aristocratic ego, and the struggle for economic interests are revealed in the harshest forms of behavior. Politics should not be considered as a large-scale concept such as only governing a country. There is politics in life, everywhere, at different levels of intensity and scale. It can also be evaluated as a part of human social life. It reflects the nature of a person as a whole of his different character traits.

I read a magnificent book. I finished the biography of Stefan Zweig, whose work I can hardly say I “didn’t like”, entitled Mary Stuart. After finishing work, I experienced the excitement of sitting down as soon as possible and continuing reading from the pages of the book that I had paused. This biography is not written in the style of a history book. It is written with Zweig’s novelistic side and flows with an extremely gripping language and atmosphere. I read the translation published by Can Publications. Although I found some aspects that I criticized, I can say that it is a good translation in general.

The life story of a girl who became Queen of Scotland when she was six days old, Mary Stuart. While she was being born, her father was on his deathbed. She spent her entire life experiencing what she gained and lost when her exciting temperament was kneaded with the title of queen that she necessarily carried. The first breath she took at birth was more of an air of politics than oxygen.

During her childhood, she became the queen of France through a marriage bond established with the French monarchy. She was crowned queen in a magnificent ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral. Her life flowed with the shackles of title imposed on her from the moment she was born. These shackles, her character, the necessity of surrendering to politics and the struggle to control power, drew the line of fate that would end in the hands of an executioner. The way to establish a strong bond between Catholic France and Catholic Scotland was to marry Mary Stuart, whose mother was French, to Francis, who was also a young child. Francis lost his life at an early age as a result of a congenital disorder. Mary Stuart's reign as queen of France also ended and with the Treaty of Edinburgh signed in 1560, France-Scotland relations lost their old atmosphere. Mary Stuart returned to Scotland.

Mary Stuart's Scotland is far behind Europe. Mary Stuart's glorious life in France is over. Now, a life full of politics awaits her. Years of ruthless political struggle with Elizabeth I, the queen of Protestant England, begin. In fact, they are cousins.

Mary Stuart is sometimes a childlike, sometimes hysterical woman, sometimes a cunning politician. Elisabeth is a calmer character, but her life is almost exclusively filled with politics. England, during the period she reigns, makes great strides and almost crosses a threshold.

The purpose of this article is not to analyze Mary Stuart's life. However, without passing on brief information about her life and environment, we do not have the chance to compare the past of politics with today by looking at examples. The book actually explains this: politics, regardless of the level of development of democracy, always exists without changing its basic motivations. The level of development of democracy, law, science, and art undermines the aspects of politics that reveal the primitive aspects of human nature.

In the second half of the 1500s, democracies were far behind compared to today. However, it emerged in ancient times and found application at different levels, but the point it reached in hundreds of years is far behind the level expected to be created by all those years. It developed slowly as the dark atmosphere of the Middle Ages began to dissipate with science and art. However, the character of politics is still the same. There is a progress in democracy with the changes, ups and downs that have occurred throughout the ages, but politics itself remains in place. As democracy weakens, it returns, becoming more vicious and ugly.

Let's continue with Mary Stuart, taking into account the determinations we made by delving into the philosophy of the matter.

Returning to Scotland from France, the Scottish queen marries her cousin Henry Stewart (Lord Darnley). The process that will turn Mary Stuart's life upside down begins with this marriage.

At the beginning of their marriage, Lord Darnley never appeals to the spirit of the Queen of Scots. Over time, they drift apart. The Queen works too closely with her secretary David Rizzio. Rizzio is close enough to the Queen to enter Mary Stuart's private room. Rumors of a romantic relationship between them begin to whisper in the corridors of Holyrood Palace. Lord Darnley gathers a group of lords to kill David Rizzio, whom he sees as a threat to himself. The murder took place in front of Mary Stuart.

With the murder, the queen's coldness towards Lord Darnley turns into hatred. In the meantime, they have a child. The child's name is James I. The child's existence drives Elisabeth crazy. What if this child, due to their kinship, becomes the head of not only Scotland but also England in the future? A Catholic Scot at the top of Protestant England! In addition, the son of her cousin Mary Stuart, whose very existence she does not like. Emotions, intrigues, murders and politics triggered by the struggle for throne and power!

The Queen of Scotland, who is childish and loves dancing, music and hunting, takes heavy revenge on Lord Darnley. After her secretary David Rizzio was killed before her eyes, was she also wanted to be killed?

Meanwhile, the heart of the Scottish queen, whose soul is as lively as a child, has shifted to a lord named Bothwell. In a possible marriage with Bothwell, who will inherit the throne and how? On one side, her cousin Elisabeth, her son, and on the other side, the ongoing marriage with Lord Darnley, but the marriage plans with Bothwell that are tangled up in her soul and mind. Politics, family relations, and ambitions are all intertwined. There is a way to untie this blind knot, risking everything: To kill Lord Darnley.

The plot is set. Lord Darnley lies in his sickbed, far from Holyrood Palace. His death must be the result of an accident. Bothwell plans the murder of Lord Darnley. The murder takes place. Mary Stuart will be destroyed in a chain of events that will now be out of her control.

Scotland revolts. The explosion that resulted in the death of Lord Darnley is revealed to be a murder. In the meantime, Mary Stuart's marriage to Bothwell also takes place. James I is nowhere to be found. The Queen of Scotland has to face the accusations of prostitution from the people and a protestant minister, John Knox. In the face of the events that develop over time, Mary Stuart is forced to take refuge in Elisabeth's England. She no longer has the chance to live comfortably in her own country.

During a long exile period, Mary Stuart is under Elisabeth's control. Elizabeth is happy with the situation, but she is worried about possible plots against her. Indeed, these worries are not unfounded. There is an assassination attempt against her, and Mary Stuart is included in this plan. It is revealed that Mary Stuart's encrypted correspondence was included in the assassination attempt, which went down in history as the Babington Plan. From this point on, the endless and never-ending suffering of the Queen of Scotland moves to another stage.

A trial process that does not comply with any legal order and will not be approved by the international community begins. Elisabeth wants the death penalty but does not want to appear to want it. What if one day a similar sentence is issued for her? The trial continues. More than the law, the strategies, intrigues and behaviors of those involved in the process to protect their own lives, power and positions govern the trial.

The trial ended and on February 8, 1587, Mary Stuart was executed by three axe blows to the neck, ending her life.

Politics is a concept related to human character and society. Individual, society, the management of society, democracy, monarchy, etc. All of these exist as long as there are people. Politics does not change. Because the nature of man does not change. Democracy, law, science, art determine the way politics is done.

Mary Stuart's story does not end with her death. Elisabeth also dies in 1603. The throne passes to James I as the king of both Scotland and England. James the son does not lift a finger to save Mary the mother. In other words, politics does not change. Human character is the same. But democracy is very much needed and there are still monarchies that function in this world today.