Elizabeth I

The Competition for Representation emphasizes Elizabeth's self-creation and the process of contestation that this construction necessitated. It differs significantly from the wealth of material available on Elizabeth because instead of assuming either that Elizabeth was in full control of how she was represented or that she was controlled by the special-interest group surrounding her, my focus is the very issue of her agency. That is, I concentrate on Elizabeth's actions and words (as nearly as they can be determined) in order to ascertain the conscious and unconscious strategies through which she worked to created an identity beyond accepted gender definitions.