Source:
The Mothers of Great Men and Women, and Some Wives of Great Men, pages 627 to 628, by Laura Carter Holloway, 1883; original at Harvard University
The account:
CHRISTINA, Queen of Sweden, daughter of the great Gustavus Adolphus, was the famous child of a very ordinary mother. They were utterly unlike in character, the mother being of capricious temper and weak in judgment. There was a natural antagonism between the two, which neither knew how to overcome. Christina held her mother's views in contempt, and displayed antipathy toward all that she did and said. She was excessively strong in will power, and bold and determined in action, while her mother, who was Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, was the other extreme, being nervous, irritable, and commonplace, and, like all commonplace people, was self-opinionated and hostile toward those who manifested originality or independence in thought or action. She held narrow prejudices regarding women, and her daughter's course was a harrowing trial to her. However, her daughter was a queen, and it was impossible for her to dictate to her. Christina's career was not one that brought her honors and reverence in her last years, but her mother was not held responsible for her characteristics or her conduct, for from the time she was two years old, when she went on a journey with her father alone, she had no desire to be with her mother. While Gustavus Adolphus lived, she was his constant companion, and she had not at any time in her life any intimates or even associates among women [sic].
Above: Kristina.
Above: Maria Eleonora.
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