蘇格蘭女王讀後感

傳記文學的精彩，就在於人的一生可以濃縮在幾百張書頁中。在這幾十年的歲月中，得意的、失意的、精彩的、困頓的，人生的種種，只換作了一個俯視的角度去觀看，就變成了幾幕簡單的舞台劇。

一個人的命運，放在歷史的舞台上，是多麼渺小，而時間是最好的解説者，幾十年還是幾百年以後的旁觀者，藉着傳記的火光，可以看到所有命運跌宕起伏的枝節脈絡，這不能不説是一件神奇的事。

關於蘇格蘭，除了風笛、格子裙之外，知曉的真地是不多，那個位於英格蘭北部的島國，留給人的印象是蒼涼和悲壯的，這樣的印象和風笛有關，還和那部《勇敢的心》的電影有關。

不説瑪麗•斯圖亞特和伊麗莎白之間的恩怨了，書裏已寫得相當清楚。關於瑪麗•斯圖亞特，全書看完，有一個個人體味的影像。她好象是一隻有着豐華美麗翅膀的'蝴蝶，在她25歲之前的青春歲月中，她自由、豐美、高貴和幸運。她翩然飛舞着，快樂、美麗、到處受人歡迎，讓人傾慕。但是她輕率和衝動，她這樣的性情，如果是一個平常的女子，犧牲的僅僅是愛情或者婚姻，但她是頭頂王冠的女王，置身於政治的旋渦的中心，於是悲劇在不遠處等着她了。

25歲之後的瑪麗•斯圖亞特依舊豐美、高貴，但她已失去了最寶貴的自由，幸福也不再眷顧於她，她顫動的雙翼依然美麗但已無力飛翔，她日夜想着掙脱，但身上的枷鎖越來越緊，直到把她送上不歸路。

在瑪麗•斯圖亞特的命運中，伊麗莎白是不容忽視的主角，兩個女人，一場糾纏了幾十年的戰爭，然後是兩個完全迥異的命運。整個作品的風格，是介於史實陳述和小説之間的，但關於女性心理有着較長篇幅的描寫，茨威格的語言因為熟悉和喜歡的，所以讀起來還是比較從容。

, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587) was Queen of Scots from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567.

She was the only surviving legitimate child of King James V. She was six days old when her father died and made her Queen of Scots. Her mother, Mary of Guise, assumed regency and her daughter was crowned nine months later.

In 1558, she married Francis, Dauphin of France, who ascended the French throne as Francis II in 1559. However, Mary was not Queen of France for long; she was widowed on 5 December 1560.

After her husband's death, Mary returned to Scotland, arriving in Leith on 19 August 1561. Four years later, she married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Their union was unhappy and in February 1567, Darnley was found dead in the garden at Kirk o'Field, after a huge explosion in the house.

She soon married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, who was generally believed to be Darnley's murderer. Following an uprising against the couple, Mary was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle on 15 June and forced to abdicate the throne in favour of her one-year-old son, James VI. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, Mary fled to England seeking protection from her father's first cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, whose kingdom she hoped to inherit. Elizabeth, however, ordered her arrest, because of the threat presented by Mary, who was considered the rightful ruler of England by many English Catholics.

After a long period of custody in England, she was tried and executed for treason following her alleged involvement in three plots to assassinate Elizabeth and place herself on the English throne