Alexandra's nervous habits

[carkuczyn]

Alexandra had many nervous habits,  but one really stands out to me when i watch documentaries on the Romanov's.  it is her excessive and exaggerated head bobbing (bowing) to the people whenever the family would appear in public.  i know that when someone marries into royalty today, they are very carefully coached on protocol and proper behavior....but i don't think Alexandra was given enough of it.  it is almost comical to watch.  makes me all the more sympathetic to her though.  has anyone else noticed  major nervous habits of the empress? 

[Guinastasia]

Keep in mind too that you're watching old films which aren't at the same speed they were originally shown.  That's why everyone looks jerky and awkward.

[carkuczyn]

i do realize that they are old films...but that is not the case with this.  she does it in every film when they are on parade.  there is even one film in which alexandra and her mother in law were both in the procession and you can notice the difference between the way the two carry themselves.  the dowager empress is very smooth and graceful with her bowing and alexandra is not.  also in the book, "a lifelong passion"  one of the relatives remarked about the way alexandra bows to the people.  i am not making fun of her.....i just think that it gives strong evidence of her difficulty at handling her role as a public person.  she was very shy, nervous, and insecure.  i admire her for coping with all of the difficulties of royal life as well as she did.  she just was not emotionally equipped for her role.

[Georgiy]

Her bowing is not so strange really. It is just normal acknowledegment of people greeting her. Also it is a form of respect - as one bows in Church after making the sign of the Cross or before an icon, by bowing to the people, she is acknowledging them as living icons (images) of God.

[carkuczyn]

please.....you misunderstand what i am saying.  i meant no disrespect to alexandra or to the custom of bowing to the people.  all i am doing is remarking about the way she did it.  it is evident that she is not comfortable with it and it is one of many ways that she always exhibited her nervousness and insecurity.  and i was wondering if anyone else noticed any other nervous habits of hers.  i can think of more....but i am curious as to what others think.  that's all.

[Grace]

I have noticed this on film of Alexandra during I think the tercentenary celebrations of 1913.  Her head movements do look stiff and rather unnatural to me and it is quite noticeable, even given the age and quality of the film, that she is not comfortable greeting large numbers of people.  Public occasions were obviously very difficult for her.

[RissiaSunbeam1918]

I have never looked that closley at Alix, and the jerkyness is a bit preocuping at times, but this does sound like something she might do.
I don't remember the direct quote, but when she stated that she could handle big things, but would find the smaller things trying? "Lashing out" (which is obviously not the word I'm looking for, but perhaps just getting angery at) at small things isn't uncommon in situations like hers near the end of her life.

[Janet_W.]

I think you need to remember that in 1913 Alexandra didn't necessarily think she was at the end of her life. She had just entered her forties, and although life expectancy wasn't what it now is, unless informed of a terminal disease she still would not have considered herself "near the end of her life," nor would anyone else except, possibly, peasants for whom life expectancy was more limited. Many people, and eventually Alexandra herself, would comment that she seemed older looking, but this was due to the emotional and physical toll of her anxiety regarding Alexei and the stresses of the Russian political situation rather than numerical age.

That being said, I've also noticed Alexandra's nervous head bobbing in various clips, most especially the one from 1913. Consider, though, that Alexei was being carried at that time, and that the Romanovs were aware the event was being recorded on film and would be included in newsreels throughout the world. Alexandra didn't enjoy public spectacle to begin with, so why would she enjoy this particular event, knowing that her son and the heir to Russia's throne would be seen at such a disadvantage?

In addition to Alexandra's shyness and discomfort in public situations, it should also be noted that at this point in her life she might very well have been perimenopausal. Whatever our gender, and whether we are young, middle-aged, or older, I think most of us will concede that hormones and their fluctuations greatly inform our day-to-day moods and behaviors.

[carkuczyn]

thank you....finally someone recognizes what i am saying without becoming defensive.  i am one of alexandra's biggest fans and have great empathy for her.  if you can get the A&E documentary entitled, "Nicholas & Alexandra", you will find that she exhibited these signs of nervousness (i.e. the exaggerated bowing) way before the 1913 tercentennary.  at the beginning of this film, there is footage of them in a procession and it is way before 1913, as evidenced by the age of the children, and she is doing the heading bobbing thing.  also in this film, there is footage of her at one of her bazaar's that she used to sponsor in the crimea.  she is working at one of the booths and talking to someone and you can tell she is extremely nervous.....she is obviously flushed in the face and keeps wiping her brow nervously.  God love her....she was always trying her best to carry out what she saw as her responsibilities in a position that she was never prepared for.  increases my admiration for her.

[Katherine_The_O.K.]

you know, I noticed this too, and thought it was just me... Alexei was ill at the time, so maybe she was trying to speed things up (futiley, of course, but when you're in a state of panic, you still try)... she was also walking faster than Nicholas- or at least with shorter but faster steps. She certainly seems jerky in her movements, it's quite odd. I can't imagine why it would be a nervous habit though- it looks like it'd give you a headache (which actually might explain alot)....

[carkuczyn]

exactly what i was talking about....i would think that she would have a sore neck the next day at least.  you're right..lol....maybe that is why she had such horrific headaches.  poor thing just never had anyone to guide her or help her....and so much adversity to get through all alone.  she started her reign out at a deficit and never was able to get on top of things.  i think she sorely needed her mother.....someone in her corner with no other agendas.  instead, she was just thrown out there with no one to rely on except her husband.

[Tsarina_Liz]

Coming into the position of empress, while not exactly a popular candidate, Alexandra had numerous chances to build up a power base in the Russian Court.  Her stubbornness, hypermorality, shyness and political ineptitude prevented her from achieving this.  It is incorrect to say she had no one to support her.  The potential supporters were there, she never took advantage of them and systematically made enemies of those who should have been friends.  And those she made friends, such as Vyrubova and Rasputin, only served to alienate her from the Court and keep her from gaining support. 

As for the headbobbing, I simply see it as a half-hearted attempt at her duty.  She does not take the time to properly acknowledge the crowd with a substantial dip of the head in specific directions but rather repeatedly gives shallow, undirected nods that indicate her lack of attention and care.  Public appearances were always trials for her and she made no effort to look like she gave a damn about being there and instead seemed rushed and distant (even annoyed).     

[carkuczyn]

i tend to think that the potential supporters within the court which you speak of were shallow though.  alexandra being a more introspective, serious minded person saw through that and became defensive.  you have to admit that the fact that she lost her mother so young was bound to make her insecure.  alexandra sincerely loved her adopted country and its people.  that was very evident when she became a nurse and joined the ranks of other ordinary nurses during the war and personally took care of the wounded russian soldiers.

[Tsarina_Liz]

Alexandra lost Alice only to find two new mother figures: Ella and Queen Victoria.  She was a loved, attended child.  While I am not saying her sister and grandmother could completely replace Alice, Alexandra grew up in what I consider a relatively stable family in which she knew her place and worth and was given a surprising amount of attention for a motherless child in a large family. 

All royal courts are petty, shallow and sometimes dangerous places.  Russia was no different, except perhaps in its size.  Alexandra grew up in a time and a class that would have ensured she knew at least the basics of court etiquette etc. and especially considering the time spent around QV, would have known at least some of the social and political duties of a monarch.  In many ways, her upbringing under the wing of QV was a plus.  Any person, given reasonable time and sensibility, could have built a power base.  The size of the Russian Court actually enabled this because there were so many nobles to choose from it would have been hard to alienate every important person.  But Alexandra managed to come pretty damn close.  Yes, her road was harder than that of a native born Russian but she was hardly the first empress or foreigner in the position and yet somehow managed to fail spectacularly where the vast majority had at least barely succeeded.  It takes a lot of energy and effort (and, honestly, a lot of stupidity) to alienate a court the size of the Russian.  For all of Alexandra's illnesses and nervous habits, she sure found the time and energy in abundance. 

Alexandra's nervous habits, because they are physiological manifestations of her psychological problems, should have been the first clues to her new people that she would fail as empress.  The frenetic head bobbing, the blotching, the palpatations, etc. all spelled disaster early on.  This was a woman who should have spent her life at a spa or sanitarium in the English country side receiving the cure instead sitting on the throne of such a large and important country as Russia. 

[carkuczyn]

queen victoria was alive for several years after alexandra became empress.  do you think that qv saw any deficiencies in the way that alexandra was carrying out her duties as empress?  and if so, did she ever let alexandra know that she disapproved, as so many others saw fit to do?  i remember reading somewhere that qv was worried about alix sitting on such an "unsafe" throne.  this tells me that russia was on the verge of disaster even before alexandra came on the scene.