It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words…..don’t you agree? Even though a photograph cannot completely convey the aspect of a person, their full personality and all their complexities, it does capture a true moment in the life of an individual. Recently, I came across this photo of Alexandra as a young child, and thought it would be nice to share. In her family, she was known as "Princess Sunshine" or "Sunny" - she certainly had a sense of humor and loved to laugh!
How many times has Tsarina Alexandra been described as “aloof”, “cold”, “haughty”, or “distant”? For that reason, I thought it would be a nice idea to post a photo that might show her in a different light.
Like all of us, Alexandra was a complex and sometimes contradictory human being. While it’s easy for us to judge her from our own perspectives and points of view, it’s impossible for any of us to have actually known her. For those that knew her well, she trusted them with a side of herself that she didn’t always show in public. While she could be a serious minded and introspective person, she was also described as a very warm, passionate and caring person. She took an active and daily role in her children’s lives and educations, and was known to even have the occasional pillow fight with them and be active with them during their times of high spirits.
10 comments:
I think that many royal persons, women especially, are often called "haughty" or "distant" simply because of their high birth. People expect them to be cold and aloof because of their station, and, being prejudiced in that direction, automatically find them so. Just a thought.
- Victoria (http://raindropsandmoonlight.blogspot.com)
What a lovely photograph and thoughtful post. I too have tended to think of Alexandra, perhaps not as cold or haughty, but at least as rather gloomy. Perhaps part of the reason is that there was so much tragedy in her life, so she tends to be associated with sadness. Thank you for bringing her sunny side to light, Val!
I have always had a soft-spot for her - she was so misunderstood! It must have been difficult to be in her position, where people were constantly criticizing her. Her friends were lucky to be able to see the warm and 'sunny' side of her.
Victoria - you've brought up an excellent point and one that I hadn't yet considered! Thank you for your insight - I think you are very right! :-)
Matterhorn - thank you very much. You are right about the sadness and tragedy in her life. It was certainly there from a very young age. Her brother, little sister and mother all taken from the family within years. No doubt, it was very hard on her and played a part in how she felt and portrayed herself to the world!
Gem - I quite agree with you! It seems so easy for Alix to be misunderstood. Imagine how difficult it might be to be in that kind of a position - constantly under the magnifying glass! My soft spot has always rested with Alix too :-)
What a lovely post and a beautiful picture (I haven't seen it before)! Thank you, Val!!
People do tend to forget that Alix was known as 'Sunny', don't they? :-)
Thank you Christina! Yes, I think they do forget sometimes. Illness and tragedy also seemed to hit close to Alix at home. Being in such a large family, it seems like they were always in mourning for someone!
What a lovely photograph. It certainly does give a different impression and perspective.
Heather - thank you! There are many photos of Alix smiling...I was really only able to include one with this post. I was unable to include the rest without the format looking very disheveled!
Late comer here...
Thanks for sharing--it's new to me. Indeed you don't see many photos of her like this!
Elisa - thank you!! Would like to post some more smiling "Sunny" photos once I can figure out how to make them look good with the blogging format :-)
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