Liza Vorontsova
Got this ask on Tumblr:
Reading a book about Peter III that said he decided to make Elizabeth his mistress bc picking "the one ugly and stupid member of an exceptionally handsome and gifted family" would be an insult to Catherine as a way of showing her that she was not indispensable?????? what?
Loool. This is Bain’s book, isn’t it? I mean, look, Bain wrote at the start of the 20th century. Basically: hello, sexism. It’s telling that Peter’s and Elizabeth’s contemporaries were also baffled by Peter’s choice of mistress exactly because she was not pretty and, possibly, not entirely feminine in manner. Like, he’s the Grand Duke/Emperor! He could have almost anyone. Why in the world would he pick an ugly mistress? There are no other things you could possibly value a woman for, right? /sarcasm
For objectivity’s sake, I’ll point out that some also considered Elizabeth to not be particularly smart either. But these observations are drowned out by everyone’s horror at how unattractive she was. And I wouldn’t be surprised that the men - the contemporary commentators are mostly all men and Catherine, whose bias and its reasons are obvious - making these assessments were influenced by their lack of attraction to her when it came to evaluating any and all of her other traits.
Lots of historians, especially men, have bent over backwards to find an explanation for why an heir to the throne would settle for a partner who was of very average intelligence and not even hot like at all. I’ve seen everything from the idiotic “it proves that Peter was stupid and had bad taste” to the equally idiotic “out of spite because his wife, who didn’t love him, was so beautiful” to “out of lack of self-confidence.”
But I really do think, based on the limited information available, that their relationship was just genuinely loving. The positive evaluations of Liza that do exist say she was kind or goodhearted, cheerful, easygoing. That’s exactly the sort of person someone like Peter would gravitate to. He was goodhearted, awkward but generally amiable (short fuse aside), and desperate for straightforward, genuine relationships which were not exactly available to him at court. While its speculation, but there’s nothing to suggest that Elizabeth didn’t enjoy some of the things he did - music, theater, etc. She was not political and this must have been a relief to him.
Is it possible that he was intimidated by beautiful or very intellectual women? Maybe. Peter’s bravado was apparent but I don’t think he had a lot of actual self-confidence. His relationship with Catherine was near-traumatic. His relationship with Empress Elizabeth (who was considered beautiful, at least in her younger years) was almost certainly so. But, in the end, we all have issues and are all uncomfortable with one thing or another and choose partners who do make us comfortable and happy. That doesn’t mean the relationships we do form are not genuine.
I read a theory once that Elizabeth may have been “nurturing” and Peter was drawn to her because, basically, mommy issues. I think, given Peter’s complete lack of a mother figure in his life and the deterioration of his relationship with the only almost-mother-figure he did have (Elizabeth, his aunt), it’s not a completely absurd theory, but in the end i give it little credence. Not just because there’s a lot of conjecture there, but also because Elizabeth was significantly younger than him, so I doubt that this is what he was projecting on her. I do however think it’s likely that he was drawn to her if she was especially loving and if he perceived it as genuine. Affection wasn’t something he got a lot of and, understandably, must have been desperate for.
And, in the end, she was his only constant and long-standing mistress. They were together for years and the relationship was still going strong (see; some of the rumors/speculations that Peter, after taking the throne, wanted to divorce Catherine in order to marry Liza) in 1762. After being deposed and arrested, Peter asked repeatedly to see Elizabeth. When asking Catherine for permission to leave the country, he also asked for permission to take Elizabeth with him. Tbh, I’m pretty convinced he loved her. And, as it happens, even Bain admits to it, despite dripping disdain all over the place.
Reading a book about Peter III that said he decided to make Elizabeth his mistress bc picking "the one ugly and stupid member of an exceptionally handsome and gifted family" would be an insult to Catherine as a way of showing her that she was not indispensable?????? what?
Loool. This is Bain’s book, isn’t it? I mean, look, Bain wrote at the start of the 20th century. Basically: hello, sexism. It’s telling that Peter’s and Elizabeth’s contemporaries were also baffled by Peter’s choice of mistress exactly because she was not pretty and, possibly, not entirely feminine in manner. Like, he’s the Grand Duke/Emperor! He could have almost anyone. Why in the world would he pick an ugly mistress? There are no other things you could possibly value a woman for, right? /sarcasm
For objectivity’s sake, I’ll point out that some also considered Elizabeth to not be particularly smart either. But these observations are drowned out by everyone’s horror at how unattractive she was. And I wouldn’t be surprised that the men - the contemporary commentators are mostly all men and Catherine, whose bias and its reasons are obvious - making these assessments were influenced by their lack of attraction to her when it came to evaluating any and all of her other traits.
Lots of historians, especially men, have bent over backwards to find an explanation for why an heir to the throne would settle for a partner who was of very average intelligence and not even hot like at all. I’ve seen everything from the idiotic “it proves that Peter was stupid and had bad taste” to the equally idiotic “out of spite because his wife, who didn’t love him, was so beautiful” to “out of lack of self-confidence.”
But I really do think, based on the limited information available, that their relationship was just genuinely loving. The positive evaluations of Liza that do exist say she was kind or goodhearted, cheerful, easygoing. That’s exactly the sort of person someone like Peter would gravitate to. He was goodhearted, awkward but generally amiable (short fuse aside), and desperate for straightforward, genuine relationships which were not exactly available to him at court. While its speculation, but there’s nothing to suggest that Elizabeth didn’t enjoy some of the things he did - music, theater, etc. She was not political and this must have been a relief to him.
Is it possible that he was intimidated by beautiful or very intellectual women? Maybe. Peter’s bravado was apparent but I don’t think he had a lot of actual self-confidence. His relationship with Catherine was near-traumatic. His relationship with Empress Elizabeth (who was considered beautiful, at least in her younger years) was almost certainly so. But, in the end, we all have issues and are all uncomfortable with one thing or another and choose partners who do make us comfortable and happy. That doesn’t mean the relationships we do form are not genuine.
I read a theory once that Elizabeth may have been “nurturing” and Peter was drawn to her because, basically, mommy issues. I think, given Peter’s complete lack of a mother figure in his life and the deterioration of his relationship with the only almost-mother-figure he did have (Elizabeth, his aunt), it’s not a completely absurd theory, but in the end i give it little credence. Not just because there’s a lot of conjecture there, but also because Elizabeth was significantly younger than him, so I doubt that this is what he was projecting on her. I do however think it’s likely that he was drawn to her if she was especially loving and if he perceived it as genuine. Affection wasn’t something he got a lot of and, understandably, must have been desperate for.
And, in the end, she was his only constant and long-standing mistress. They were together for years and the relationship was still going strong (see; some of the rumors/speculations that Peter, after taking the throne, wanted to divorce Catherine in order to marry Liza) in 1762. After being deposed and arrested, Peter asked repeatedly to see Elizabeth. When asking Catherine for permission to leave the country, he also asked for permission to take Elizabeth with him. Tbh, I’m pretty convinced he loved her. And, as it happens, even Bain admits to it, despite dripping disdain all over the place.