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18
DorotaBabilas
favouritesreacttotheQueen’spetsinmarkedlydifferentways.Sarahis
disgustedandrefusestohaveanythingtodowiththem,whileAbigailpretends
toliketheminordertogetclosertotheQueen,butafterachievingheraimshe
behavescruellytowardsthem.Towardstheendofthefilm,theQueennotices
Abigaildeliberatelystepononeofherrabbits-sheisterrifiedanddisgusted
bythisbehaviour,triestogetoutofbed,butisphysicallyunabletodosoand
fallsonthefloor.StilltheQueendemandsthatAbigail“rubherlegs”(that
oncewasshorthandforasexualfavour).AsAbigailaccedes,Annehumiliates
herbygrabbingherhairandpushingherfacedown.AnimageofAnne’srabbits,
multiplied,issuperimposedonthefacesofthetwowomen,bothlooking
unhappy.AttheendAbigailisvisuallyequatedwiththerabbits,asjustanother
petforAnne,asurrogatefortheloveandcareshelostwithbanishingSarah.
Alltheprotagonistshavesufferedirreparablelossesandarestuckwiththe
consequencesoftheirmistakes.
TheQueencannotretaliateagainstthetruecauseofherfrustration,soshe
ventsitonsomeonewhoislowerinthehierarchy(Sarah,Abigail,servants).
Havingadvancedsocially,Abigailalsostartsmistreatingservantsandanimals,
eventhoughshehadsufferedinjusticeandevenphysicalpunishmentbefore.
Theunhappinesstricklesdownfromthetopofthesocietytothebottom,as
eachdissatisfiedpersoncruellypunishestheonebeneathher,untileveryoneis
miserable.Thefinalimageoftherabbitsmultipliedmightjustbeasuggestion
thatthemostdowntroddenwilleventuallyriseandoverpowertheiroppressors.
YorgosLanthimos’sfilmmayberegardedasaninterestingandmulti-
facetedattempttorediscoverQueenAnneasanoteworthyprotagonistof
Britishhistory,butalsoasacharacterwithsignificantpotentialforsymbolic
treatment.Hercomplexpersonality-skilfullypresentedassimultaneously
grotesqueandtragic-providesathought-provokingstartingpointforthe
discussionofmanystillresonantsubjects,bothpsychologicalandpolitical.
Bibliography
Babilas,Dorota.2012.WiktoriaznaczyZwyciŠstwo.Kulturoweobliczabrytyjskiej
królowej.Warszawa:WydawnictwaUniwersytetuWarszawskiego.
Babilas,Dorota.2015.“QueenAnne’sCulturalAfterlife”,inExploringHistory:British
CultureandSociety1700tothePresent.EssaysinHonourofProfessorEmma
Harris,(ed.)LucynaKrawczyk-Šywko.FrankfurtamMain:PeterLang,pp.11-21.
Bucholz,RobertO.2002.“QueenAnne:victimofhervirtues?”,inQueenshipinBritain,
1660-1837:RoyalPatronage,CourtCulture,andDynasticPolitics,(ed.)Clarissa
Campbell-Orr.Manchester:ManchesterUniversityPress,pp.94-129.