Today in class we analyzed and discussed the Morton and Shaw readings. These described the life of Franz Joseph, Rudolf (The Crown Prince), Elisabeth, and Mary. After having completed this readings I learned that Rudolf and his father, Franz Joseph, had an extremely sour relationship. Franz Joseph viewed his son as a threat to his rule although he was the true heir. The Emperor therefore gave the Crown Prince titles and responsibilities that were either useless or did not suit him. An example is that Rudolf was put in charge of the infantry and Rudolf did not enjoy this position of power. He had extremely differing political views from his father. Rudolf was more liberal while Franz Joseph was conservative. The only way that Rudolf was able to express his views to the public was by anonymously submitting political letters to the editor the newspaper, however his father was aware of these happenings.
The constant disagreements between Rudolf and Franz Joseph along with Rudolf feeling useless eventually reached its boiling point with Rudolf's suicide. His body was discovered along with Mary's body in a room in Rudolf's hunting lodge. This discovery caused the Empire to go into a frenzy because it was apparent that Rudolf had murdered Mary and then consequently killed himself. Their deaths were extremely controversial because the son of the Emperor could not be seen as a killer, and if his death was officially ruled as a suicide he would not be able to be buried in the Catholic Church. Franz Joseph solved these problems within the Empire by having the Pope sign off that Rudolf was in a wrong mental state in order for him to be buried in the Catholic Church. Franz Joseph then took care of Mary's body by transporting her to holy ground for her burial by propping her up in a coach instead of her travelling in a hearse in order to erase her body from public view. The Empire truly shocks me with how they cheat around all things taboo or disgraceful, even if they must cheat around family relationships and death.
No comments:
Post a Comment