Stan series The Great, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, is a historical comedy about the rise to power of one of Russia's greatest leaders, Catherine the Great.
The Hulu original follows Catherine, an intelligent, ambitious but naive young woman, who is arranged to marry the Russian emperor, Peter III.
In the series, Catherine struggles to adapt to life as an empress whose sole duty is to bear her brutal and idiotic emperor husband an heir.
History serves as a spoiler that she eventually overthrew her husband to become Russia's longest-reigning female leader, ruling from 1762 to 1796.
So while The Great hosts a disclaimer of being an "occasionally true story", how much is actually true?
WARNING: Some spoilers ahead.
Let's start with the biggest discrepancies…
… Like who Catherine and Peter actually were, and where they were from.
In truth, Catherine's name wasn't even Catherine, and she wasn't even Russian.
She was born Sophie von Anhalt-Zerbst and was the daughter of an impoverished Prussian Prince in Pomerania (modern-day Poland).
When she arrived in St Petersburg, Sophie was given the Russian name Ekaterina Alexeevna, and is now referred to by her anglicised name, Catherine.
In the show, all we learn about Catherine's early life is that she is German and that her family was not doing all that well financially.
Like Catherine, the real Peter III was also a foreigner.
He was born Karl Peter Ulrich in the German city of Kiel.
He grew up in what was then Prussia and he never really let go of his love of his homeland — he refused to learn Russian, was contemptuous of Russian food and culture, and often dressed in blue, the colour of the Prussian military's uniform.
Unlike in the show, Peter III was not the son of Peter the Great, but rather his grandson. Peter was brought to Russia by his aunt, Empress Elizabeth, who had chosen him as her successor.
And in reality, Peter and Catherine were not so far removed from each other — they were second cousins.
The other main difference is the timeline.
In the show, Catherine marries Peter and becomes empress when she arrives in Russia at age 19.
But the real Catherine was chosen to marry Peter at 14, and arrived in Russia in 1744 at age 16.
She and Peter married the year after and they became a Duke and Duchess.
Catherine only became empress almost two decades later when Empress Elizabeth died in 1762.
Peter III was assassinated soon after and Catherine became the sole ruler of Russia until her death in 1796.
The times The Great was true to life
He wasn't the confident philanderer as portrayed by Hoult, but Peter was grossly immature and his marriage with Catherine was certainly an unhappy one.
The Great offers glimpses of fondness between the pair and, at one point, Peter thinks he might actually be in love.
But the real couple never appeared to connect emotionally or physically — it is widely believed the two never consummated their marriage and that Catherine's children (and heirs) could have been fathered by her lovers.
Peter is said to have been an alcoholic with a child-like obsession with the military, while Catherine was (like her Fanning character) interested in reading, discussing ideas and bringing sophistication to Russia.
Catherine pushed for education, emphasising a need for learning, arts and science, and was also a fan of writers from the French Enlightenment period such as Diderot and Voltaire.
Catherine really did infect herself with smallpox in a procedure known as inoculation, but the procedure was nowhere near as dramatic as it appeared in the show.
Rather than inject pus from a smallpox pustule into her hand before the entire Russian court, the Duchess (as she was then) underwent the procedure privately with doctors.
She travelled to her summer palace to recover and, on the fifth day of recovery, showed mild signs of smallpox — evidence the experimental procedure may have worked.
The horse rumour was also a thing.
In the episode Moscow Mule, in which Catherine convinces Peter a printing press machine is a good idea, a rumour spreads in the court that the empress has had sex with a horse.
The ladies of the court neigh and her as she walks by, a picture of her with a horse is printed on the press and spread around the palace.
It's a nod to the real rumours Catherine not only had sex with a horse, but that she was eventually killed by one (which is false).
Oh, and there really was an Ivan.
Through the tradition of succession, Ivan VI became emperor of Russia in 1740 at just two months old. Future empress Elizabeth later staged a coup and claimed the title for herself.
Ivan was imprisoned in solitary confinement for 20 years.
A member of the garrison tried to free him in 1762 in a mutiny attempt, but the jailbreak ended with Ivan being killed. Huzzah.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA1LTMwL2h1bHUtc3Rhbi10aGUtZ3JlYXQtYWJvdXQtcnVzc2lhbi1lbXByZXNzLWNhdGhlcmluZS1pcy1pdC10cnVlLzEyMjg5OTM00gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyMjg5OTM0?oc=5
2020-05-29 20:20:52Z
52780819041440
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar