During Christina’s time a Christian hegemony of both catholic and protestant brand had still a great power over subjectivity side by side with an aristocratic tradition in decline. The new national state was in its bud and absolute monarchy was after the French model a dominating ideal. Within this socio-political and cultural frame human behaviour was often discussed in relation to two philosophical aspects in contradiction with each other. One stems from neo-stoic forms of self-control and the other from more libertine versions of the human that can be traced back to epicureanism and other naturalist conceptions. In this paper I would like to highlight how Christina’s famous deviations from gender norms as a queen and an aristocratic woman can be seen as a specific response to the periods’ subjectivation of bodies and desire. I will do so by exploring two sources. First, I will look at these deviations through examples from contemporary accounts of her two French visits in 1658 and 1659. And secondly, I will look at some of her maxims that engage both neo-stoic and epicurean discussions of power and passions.
Queen Christina – in Response to Early Modern Subjectivation of Bodies and Desires
Carin Franzén, Comparative Literature, Stockholm University. Abstract for the workshop Female Responses in Early Modern Literature, at Stockholm University 17 September, 2020.
Last updated:
September 10, 2020
Source: Department of Culture and Aesthetics