Elizabeth I, Monarch Of England, And Marie De L ...

Elizabeth I, monarch of England, and Marie de l’Incarnation, a French nun, both invoked God and other forms of religious power to stake their claims to authority. Elizabeth’s role as a queen came at a time when her country was going through political turmoil. Marie’s role as a missionary in New France was to civilize the indigenous people. Although working to better their countries, both of these writers are vastly different due to their social positions. While Elizabeth had the substantial task of ruling over her country, Marie was serving her country as a missionary; however, both writers utilize religion to accomplish their various duties. Marie utilized her understanding of religion and the Native’s understanding of religion to build a relationship built on trust. She arrived in modern day Quebec in the late 1630’s as a missionary from her country to educate and civilize the Natives there to match European traditions. Marie found similarities with the indigenous people as even though they didn’t have a God, they had their own forms of worship. In Letter 65 to her son, she answers his questions regarding the â€Å"Savages’† beliefs on divinity. â€Å"Certain ones adored the sun and offered its sacrifices. Others had recourse to certain spirits who they said provided over the woods but all obeyed their dreams as a divinity† (Marie, 368). Even though the Natives did not have any exposure to â€Å"the True God† before they met the Europeans, they still believed in some sort of higher