Catherine The Great
Part II
The second boyfriend (Poniatowski) (she was married to Peter): He was affectionate, attentive, discreet, and faithful. He taught Catherine to know contentment and security as well as passion in love. He became a part of her process of healing.
Stick to the Truth - The great problem lay in the fact that I tried to stick as close as possible to the truth, while he left it farther and farther behind.
Dealing with enemies - [She gave a party for her husband, Peter. It was a great success.] She records people as saying, "She gave presents to everyone; she is charming; she smiled and took pleasure in making us all dance, eat and make merry." "In short, I was found to possess qualities which had not been recognized before, and I thereby disarmed my enemies. This had been my goal."
"I felt myself possessed of sufficient courage either to rise or fall without being carried away by undue pride on the one hand, or being humbled and dispirited on the other." 宠辱不惊。当她假装要求Elizabeth女沙皇把她赶回德国算了，她在日记里描述当时的心理准备。
Peter's abdication from the throne - The six-month reign of Peter III was over. Years later, Frederick the Great (普鲁士皇帝）said, "He allowed himself to be dethroned like a child being sent to bed."
Peter's death - Peter was killed by the guards who watched him. Catherine was probably innocent. However, she hid the truth and told the people that Peter died of Colic （急性肚子疼）. To this, Voltaire said, "When a heavy-drinker dies from colic, it teaches us to be sober."
Relationship with Potemkin
- For a person with an orderly German mind who exercised strict self-control, the emotional intensity Catherine experienced with Potemkin was both liberating and distracting. She had to choose between drawn-out, draining sexual pleasure and her duties as a ruler. She tried to have both, and both ran concurrently in her mind. She was not free to be with him whenever she wanted; she compensated by secretly surrounding herself with thoughts of him; she did this while reading papers or listening to officials delivering reports, hours after hour. Because she was not free to spend these honeymoon days alone with him, Catherine poured her love onto these little scribbled slips of paper.
- Letters to Potemkin (most important man in her life) - There is no reason to be angry. But no, it's time to stop giving you assurances. You must be most, most, most certain by now that I love you... I want you to love me. I want to appear desirable to you. If you want, I shall paraphrase this page for you in three words and cross out all the rest. Here it is: I love you.
- Another letter: Do me this one favor for my sake: be calm. I am a bit merrier after my tears, and only your agitation grieves me. My dear friend, my darling, stop tormenting yoruself, we both need our peace so our thoughts can settle down and become bearable, or else we'll end up like balls in a game of tennis. Tennis 倒底什么时候就有了？
- On the mystery whether Potemkin was indeed her husband - The history of Russia offers the strongest evidence of all. After their physical passion had dimmed, Catherine and Gregory Potemkin continued a special relationship that was often incomprehensible to everyone around them. Marriage would provide an explanation. If they were secretly married and still deeply cared for each other but had agreed on a modus vivendi, it could account for the unique authority wielded by Potemkin in Catherine's Russia for the rest of his life. During this year- over fifteen years - he received and returned Catherine's devoted loyalty and affection. This was true even when both were sleeping with other people. [Open Relationship!]
- "We quarrel about power, never about love. This is the truth." This was, indeed, the truth; it was the crux of the problem. The question of power constantly gnawed at Potemkin. ...The problem was that despite everything he had done and everything he had been given, his position rested entirely on Catherine. He knew this. He saw that if their quarreling continued, there was a possibility that, one day, the empress might triumph over the woman and turn on him and dismiss him. He would then be no more than the stumbling Orlov and the pitiable Viscilchikov. He was not willing to risk this. The moment had arrived when he had to choose between love and power. He chose power. It meant withdrawal from love and from Catherine. 任何关系都同时是权利的“游戏”, 但是和女沙皇谈恋爱，这种权利的游戏更加literal。
Relationship with young men (one after another) - As attention focused increasingly on the question of age, Catherine explained that these relationships served an important pedagogical function. Her young men, she said, were being schooled to ornament a sophisticated, cosmopolitan court; they were to be accomplished and useful, not just to the monarch personally but ultimately to the empire. In her correspondence with Grimm, she explained that these young men were so extraordinary that she was obliged to give them opportunity to develop their talents. [I see]
What she wants - She wanted an indication of pleasure in her company, a desire to understand her point of view, a willingness to be instructed by her intelligence and experience, an appreciation of her sense of humor, and an ability to make her laugh.
Last sentence - It was a long and remarkable journey that no one, not even she, could have imagined when, at fourteen, she set off for Russia across the snow.
Review of the book - "Robert Massie delivers another masterpiece of narrative biography, the story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to Russia at fourteen and rose to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. Her story is superbly told, with Massie's signature mastery of detail, depth of understanding, felicity of style, and rare genius for finding the human drama in extraordinary lives. In this book, the eternally fascinating Catherine the Great is returned to life."
