The Federalist BY:Â ELAD VAIDA
Napoleonâs ambition, decisiveness, and drive made him excellently suited to make the most out of the tumult of the revolution.
Antony Beevorâs latest article in The Telegraph discusses Ridley Scottâs upcoming film about Napoleonâs life and laments the fact that heroic figures like Napoleon give weight to the Great Man Theory. Beevor sees the idea that a few significant figures have outsized effects as âunfashionable and offensive.â
It is a shame that someone like Beevor, an excellent writer who has produced many magisterial history books about World War II, wrote such a historically misguided article.
What about Great Women?
One of Beevorâs points is that the Great Man Theory âcarries the insulting implication that women cannot be great leaders.â But appreciating Napoleon or Caesar does not exclude recognition of the achievements of female rulers. Maria Theresa of Austria is considered by some to be âthe most important ruler of the age of Enlightened Absolutism.â Queen Victoriaâs rule defined one of Great Britainâs most vibrant eras. Catherine the Great played a key role in turning the Russian Empire into a great power.
Beevorâs assertion that female rulers are somehow âmuch less susceptible to the narcissistic narratives so favoured by male dictatorsâ appears silly to anyone whoâs read a biography of Cleopatra or Catherine de Medici…
