Catherine: From Girl to Queen

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads, I was so excited to win this book, thank you.

Catherine the Great is a fascinating woman and Robert Massie has done a great job capturing the role she played in history.

I didn't know a lot about Catherine when I began reading, but as I learned about her, she became very real and I was eager to continue reading to learn more about her. It is so interesting that this young German princess, who basically self-educated herself, became such a powerful woman. Married to a weak man, who ignored her both sexually and intellectually, she kept her eyes open for opportunities to learn, grow, and gain the respect and admiration of the Russian people. Although she obviously liked power,I still liked her and sympathized with her struggles. I was impressed that although she believed in a monarchy, she still had a hope to change the system of serfdom in her kingdom. It also impressed me that she did not condone the torture of captured enemies. However, she still pretty much turned a blind eye to the murder of her husband so she could gain the throne.

Isn't it interesting, that the games that we play in the world now have been played since the beginning of time? When her husband wouldn't consummate their marriage, she was encouraged to have a sexual relationship in order to conceive a child. How could it not matter that the child was not conceived by royalty when that child would eventually gain the throne?

What I find so interesting though, is that this strong, intellectual woman, who was Queen of Russia, always had to have a "boy toy" around. In total I think she had something like 12 of them throughout her reign (the older she got, the younger they got). So okay, she's the Queen, and she has boy toys, we can cut her a little slack, it's a lonely job, right? But she lets these boy toys, at least some of them, make her second guess her decisions. That's just wrong. I expect more from a strong intellectual woman. She is so nice to these men in her life too. When she's done with them, she doesn't just boot them out, but usually gives them at the very least a home, a title and an allowance.

I was so impressed with Catherine's sense of justice in the beginning stages of her reign. Have you ever noticed how as people get older they get more opinionated and less tolerant? The same thing happens with Catherine. There are of course, scary things happening - Marie Antoinette, for instance, gets beheaded. Catherine certainly doesn't want to fall to the same fate and thus begins squashing down those who advocate for a more permissive society.

Catherine the Great did, overall, create a society that welcomed more intellectuals. She collected a massive art collection. She never stopped learning. She did not allow herself to become defeated by her circumstances. She was politically savvy and expanded the kingdom of Russia. She wasn't snotty. When she gathered her court around her in the evening, she wanted them there as friends and did away with ceremony. She liked to laugh and play. The palace parks were open for everyone (nobles and common people) as long as they were dressed decently. The role she played in history is a large one. If you'd like to learn more about her, this book is a great place to start.

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