On Dairymaids and Crowns...

This whole ‘rule’ thing is a little more complicated than I thought it was going to be.  If at some point I thought that because I am my father’s daughter, I would assume power without being questioned, I certainly don’t think that now!  Now I realize that my being a woman really complicates things.  Not only am I expected to marry and produce an heir, but there are so many men who would use me to advance their own agendas.  Still others do not believe that women should rule at all!!!  Negotiating the ins and outs of all this is very exhausting.  I am always watching out for hidden danger and I am always being watched.  Power, I have decided, is tenuous at best.  I suppose this is a lesson that many women (and a few men) have learned before me.  Keeping your head is, in this situation, quite a challenge.  It seems that I am always under pressure to consolidate power and keep power, and I can never let my guard down or just be myself, as other women are free to do — the men are always waiting like spiders in their webs, for me to show any signs of weakness. The dairymaid has more freedom than I do!!!!!  I have empathy for other women but I haven’t really thought about doing anything to advance their cause.  Besides, then you get into that whole class thing.  I am not here to change society.  I have other worries like religious unrest and the threat of war!  Not to mention the economy.  Oy Vay….