Alexandra's Personality Traits - Good & Bad

[PAVLOV]

Well the contents of this letter serves as proof of her irresponsibility, ignorance of her position, lack of sensibility, and the times she was living in. .
 
The poor woman was clueless, irrespective of what some people think of her.

She should have married some insignificant german prince, retired to a little castle somewhere, to spend her days knitting and playing the piano. Not Empress of Russia.   

[historylover]

If I remember correctly, she was born in June 6, so yes, she was Gemini.

Thank you for looking that up, RomanovsFan.  It seems that there is something in the stars after all!

[violetta]

one of the main flaws of af`s character that influenced her position as the empress was her inability to get on with pople, her inabilty to realize that she was not only a wif and a mother  but THE EMPRESS who had certain roles to fulfil. unlike her mother -in-law whose motto was SMILE! SMILE! af was not able to establish good rapport with people. also, she wanted to live a quit family life at times forgtting or ignoring her role as the emprss.

this is what Marie of romania said (marie and hr son`s carol`s visit to russia when carol`s and olga`s marriag was planned)

alix "managed to put an insuperable distance betwn her world and yours....She made you , in fact, feel an intruding outsider,which is of all sensations the most chilling and uncomfortable...Altough there is little diffrenc in age between us, she had a way of making me feel as though I were not even grown up!"


when the time came to leave tsarskoe selo, marie said

"To part from ai was not difficult,she mad lav-taking quite easy. Her lif was lik a closd chamber, peopled with strange imaginations and still stranger individuals, into which no outsider had
entry...No, it was no grief to leave Alix".

[historylover]

We have to remember that Alix was in a desperate situation, very religious, and impressed with Rasputin because he had
miraculous powers over Alexai.

[violetta]

We have to remember that Alix was in a desperate situation, very religious, and impressed with Rasputin because he had
miraculous powers over Alexai.

yes, we rememeber that. but she started to isolate herself and her family almost from the vry beginning of her marriage. she never managed to know how to get on with people.she never learnt how to be the tsarina and the public persona.

[Silja]

one of the main flaws of af`s character that influenced her position as the empress was her inability to get on with pople, her inabilty to realize that she was not only a wif and a mother  but THE EMPRESS who had certain roles to fulfil. unlike her mother -in-law whose motto was SMILE! SMILE! af was not able to establish good rapport with people. also, she wanted to live a quit family life at times forgtting or ignoring her role as the emprss.

this is what Marie of romania said (marie and hr son`s carol`s visit to russia when carol`s and olga`s marriag was planned)

alix "managed to put an insuperable distance betwn her world and yours....She made you , in fact, feel an intruding outsider,which is of all sensations the most chilling and uncomfortable...Altough there is little diffrenc in age between us, she had a way of making me feel as though I were not even grown up!"


when the time came to leave tsarskoe selo, marie said

"To part from ai was not difficult,she mad lav-taking quite easy. Her lif was lik a closd chamber, peopled with strange imaginations and still stranger individuals, into which no outsider had
entry...No, it was no grief to leave Alix".

This comment of Marie's also struck me. I think it very well sums up what made ALexandra a complete failure as empress of Russia.

And not to smile in public when you are the empress is absolutely inexcusable.

[Silja]

We have to remember that Alix was in a desperate situation, very religious, and impressed with Rasputin because he had
miraculous powers over Alexai.

Certainly. But as a public person you have to accept the fact that you have to act as such - IF you mean to KEEP your position in the long run. There is no other way. It was Alexandra's tragedy that she was unable to realise and grasp how her behaviour helped to lead to precisely the opposite of what she  wanted to achieve. Instead of sustaining the regime she helped undermine the public image of the monarchy.

[Kalafrana]

'We have to remember that Alix was in a desperate situation, very religious, and impressed with Rasputin because he had
miraculous powers over Alexai.'

Alexandra THOUGHT Rasputin had miraculous powers over Alexei.

Alexandra appeared in public reluctantly, usually looking miserable, and expected the Russian people to love her without doing anything in return. Granted she took up nursing when the war began, but for 20 years before that she had avoided her royal duties.

Just contrast Alexandra with our present Queen, who appreciates that a visit from her and being spoken to by her is going to be a high spot in many people's lives, and makes an effort to be interested in whatever it is she's visiting, no matter that it's one more in a long long succession of hospitals, art galleries etc, and she'd really much rather be at home with the TV.

[Belochka]

...Alexandra appeared in public reluctantly, usually looking miserable, and expected the Russian people to love her without doing anything in return. Granted she took up nursing when the war began, but for 20 years before that she had avoided her royal duties.

Just contrast Alexandra with our present Queen, who appreciates that a visit from her and being spoken to by her is going to be a high spot in many people's lives, and makes an effort to be interested in whatever it is she's visiting, no matter that it's one more in a long long succession of hospitals, art galleries etc, and she'd really much rather be at home with the TV.

It is wrong to suggest that Alexandra Fyodorovna "avoided" her duties. Many photographs and diaries confirm that she did what was expected of her when her health allowed.

Likewise IMHO it is unfair to compare her circumstances with those of Queen Elizabeth II.

Margarita

[Kalafrana]

'It is wrong to suggest that Alexandra Fyodorovna "avoided" her duties. Many photographs and diaries confirm that she did what was expected of her when her health allowed.

Likewise IMHO it is unfair to compare her circumstances with those of Queen Elizabeth II.'

OK, I'm being a bit provocative. Alexandra strikes me as someone who took refuge in ill-health, but, whatever the state of her health, she still appeared in public reluctantly. If you are unhappy with a comparison with Elizabeth II, we could still compare her with Queen Mary, for example.

Ann

[mcdnab]

I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding with the public role of a sovereign and his/her family. Public duties that we think of now are the majority of almost every Royal's life. They are far more numerous and visible than fifty or sixty years ago.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Centuries the public role of a royal person was far smaller (apart from the sovereign themselves) - in fact you would be hard put to find much difference between the public activities of royals and the upper echelons of society. the bulk of their lives followed the same pattern of their aristocracy, interspersed with public appearances at certain national events, and public appearances at some of the charity events arranged under their patronage.
A reading of the public engagements of Queen Mary in the pre war years would make pretty dull reading - the odd state visit, a variety of charity bazaars and fetes, and the major events surrounding the coronation and the Durbhar. The rest of the time her life followed the usual pattern of followinig her husband from London to Balmoral to Windsor to Sandringham with the odd private visit to the homes of their intimates - they rarely attended great balls or major social/society occassions as George V wasn't fond of them. During the war her public duties increased as she visited more and more hospitals and nursing posts etc and fund raising events etc. There were changes after the war but their duties didn't really explode until the 50's and 60's.
Alix's dislike for major social occassions and her personal feelings that she was disliked by Petersburg society - naturally reduced her visibility at key social events and damaged her reputation (either fairly or unfairly), her other public duties were limited as much of the charity work of the Empress Consort (the Department of the Empress Marie - founded by Paul I's wife) was still firmly in the hands of the Dowager Empress again limiting what Alix could do. Had she enjoyed society and thrown herself into society she might have not gained the reputation she did but it seems she just couldn't bring herself to do it or thought it necessary.

[violetta]

I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding with the public role of a sovereign and his/her family. Public duties that we think of now are the majority of almost every Royal's life. They are far more numerous and visible than fifty or sixty years ago.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Centuries the public role of a royal person was far smaller (apart from the sovereign themselves) - in fact you would be hard put to find much difference between the public activities of royals and the upper echelons of society. the bulk of their lives followed the same pattern of their aristocracy, interspersed with public appearances at certain national events, and public appearances at some of the charity events arranged under their patronage.
A reading of the public engagements of Queen Mary in the pre war years would make pretty dull reading - the odd state visit, a variety of charity bazaars and fetes, and the major events surrounding the coronation and the Durbhar. The rest of the time her life followed the usual pattern of followinig her husband from London to Balmoral to Windsor to Sandringham with the odd private visit to the homes of their intimates - they rarely attended great balls or major social/society occassions as George V wasn't fond of them. During the war her public duties increased as she visited more and more hospitals and nursing posts etc and fund raising events etc. There were changes after the war but their duties didn't really explode until the 50's and 60's.
Alix's dislike for major social occassions and her personal feelings that she was disliked by Petersburg society - naturally reduced her visibility at key social events and damaged her reputation (either fairly or unfairly), her other public duties were limited as much of the charity work of the Empress Consort (the Department of the Empress Marie - founded by Paul I's wife) was still firmly in the hands of the Dowager Empress again limiting what Alix could do. Had she enjoyed society and thrown herself into society she might have not gained the reputation she did but it seems she just couldn't bring herself to do it or thought it necessary.

I do agree that nowadays the role of monarchy is different. it`s also true that nowadays royals are more exposed to public scrutiny due to mass media and globalization. alexandra feodorovna participated in public events or state visits wen duty called her - it`s true.but her duty was also particiption in the life of the court and good rapport with the highest circles of society because aristocracy was the base of the imperial throne, aristocracy had been the most loyal subject of His Imperial Majesty. Being a Sovereign is more than simply "performing your duties", it`s not an office job that you can leave at the end of your office hours,it`s huge responsibility for the monarchy and the country. those women who did not understand this shouldn`t have married the future russian tzar...

[Kalafrana]

It is true that the public role of monarchy was smaller in the 1900s than today, but it was developing. In Britain royal persons were certainly involved with 'worthy causes' of various kinds, particularly hospitals.

Somebody will no doubt correct me if I'm mistaken, but I think that any role of the monarch as holder of balls and major society functions had become very limited as a result of Queen Victoria's long period of seclusion. Edward VII's reign was fairly brief - only nine years - so George V and Mary not being leaders of society wasn't a problem. They had also had a fairly long period of public service before George V succeeded, whereas Alexandra was Empress without any previous track record in Russia. Obviously that made things more difficult for her than some others - Marie Feodorovna, for example, who had 15-16 years as the wife of the heir apparent to build her position.

Alexandra needed to work to establish herself. Yes, she had five children in the first ten years of her marriage and was intermittantly ill, but she wasn't always ill and she wasn't always pregnant.

Ann

[PAVLOV]

Queen Mary was well known for carrying out her Royal duties, no matter what. One of the Royal children once complained about having to perform a public duty, and her response was :

" We are the Bitish royal family, we love visiting hospitals, and we never get tired. "

Pity Alexandra did not follow her example.

[historyfan]

Queen Mary was well known for carrying out her Royal duties, no matter what. One of the Royal children once complained about having to perform a public duty, and her response was :

" We are the Bitish royal family, we love visiting hospitals, and we never get tired. "

Pity Alexandra did not follow her example.

That wouldn't have been an issue, had the public not already decided they hated her.  Well, wait, let me rephrase - it would have been an issue, but not an incapacitating one.  After all, Queen Victoria virtually went into hiding for years after the death of Prince Albert, and people grumbled, but they got over it (if her Jubilee turnout was any indication!) 

Everyone, Empress, Queen, or regular person, has his or her own threshold of just how much they can take.  Some people truly "never get tired".  Some get tired to the point of breakdown.  Just how good is a person experiencing breakdown, to anyone?  I can say from experience, not much.  It would've been folly for her to do *everything* people accused her of not doing, then collapsing from nervous exhaustion, or going insane, or having a heart attack.  Knowing what we know these days about the effect of overwork on health, I sympathize.