If I had to rate Catherine the Great's success at being
the ideal wife, mother, and woman on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest), she
would get miserable numbers.
First of all, during her
marriage, she had many illicit love affairs with Russian nobles. That, to me, is not
the example of a faithful and dutiful wife. This earns her about a 1 on the "measuring
up" scale.
Secondly, although it's not been proven she was
involved, her husband was deposed from the throne and later assasinated. It seems that
she should have done more to see that he retained his throne and was protected. This,
too, earns her about a 1.
Thirdly, there is skepticism
over the biological father of Catherine's firstborn, Paul I. Some claim that his
father, Peter III could not have been his real father because he was sterile. Others
claim Paul's father might have been one of Catherine's lovers at the time. Historians
also allude to the fact that Catherine hated her son
and was only restrained from putting him to death
while he was still a boy by the fear of what the consequences of another palace crime
might be to herself.
In other
records, however, she is represented as being a kind mother. Who's to say? Anyway, I
don't think she was a very good mother so I'd have to only give her only a 5 on that
count!
But, as a woman, I would give her a hearty 10. She
was gracious, ladylike, and dignified in her role as empress. Whatever was lacking in
her personal life faded into oblivion the moment she stepped into her throneroom or
personal office. She took the reins of government and politics and guided Russia with
wisdom and efficiency. In that department, she truly
excelled!
Total tally on the "measuring up" standards set
by Mary Wollstonecraft: 4.5.
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