THE STAG
WHAT WAS THE STAG SUPPOSE TO SYMBOLIZE? WAS IT- THAT THE QUEEN REALLY HAS A HEART?
shareObviously, this part would be entirely at the discretion of the writers, as no-one knows what the queen did while she was stuck alone on a hillside, but perhaps the stag, a magnificent animal bred by the Queens estate to be hunted and killed is symbolic of Diana. The Queen realises this and shoos the animal away, perhaps understanding the precious nature and fragility of life in something so beautiful.
She cracks the hardened shell of her upbringing, and starts to grieve openly. From that point she agrees to the flag at half mast and heads south to meet her people again...
I reckon.
I got the impression that it symbolised the old values and traditions that the queen felt were effectively killed (like the stag) when they had to accept how society had changed.
shareThese are a lot of terrific thoughts on the symbolism of this part of the film, thanks everyone!
shareThe analogy of the stag representing Diana hand't occurred to me, but it makes a lot of sense. My thought was the same as the OP...that it was supposed to show that the Queen had heart, feelings, sensitivity, etc.
shareJust finished watching this film and I felt the opposite. It symbolised that Elizabeth cared more for an animal than she did for Diana.
IMO the whole film shows how she doesn't have any emotional connection to Diana at all. She was 'humiliated' as is shown later in the film by the speech she had to give on national TV which strengthens my interpretation.
I agree. From what I've read, the Queen and those close to her detest anything that implies change or "rocks the boat." Diana did just that by going out among the people and actually caring for them in a public way and refusing to play the part royal wives have played through the centuries--put up with an unfaithful husband and keep her mouth shut.
Once Diana gave the Queen the heir and the spare, she became expendable. Charles was not going to give up his mistress (who herself was married until 1995) and when it became clear Diana would not change her attitudes, the Queen ordered the divorce to return "peace" to the monarchy. IMHO
I feel the scene had a double meaning:
1) In a straightforward sense, it showed that the queen had a heart and didn't want the animal to get shot (showing empathy).
2) But in the far deeper symbolic sense... they are both rare and endangered. The stag hunted by the stalkers and the queen hunted by the press/people. In that moment when they saw each other, I think she was aware of their similarity. Even though she should have been in favor of "another good kill", she wanted this thing that was being hunted by everyone to survive, and shooed it off.
When the queen heard the stag had been killed and visited it, I think she respected the stag for putting up a good fight to evade capture, but in that moment, it was confirmation of her feeling that she needed to do what needed to be done to not end up like the stag and ensure her families survival... regardless of who was in the right (the stalkers or the stalked).
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This is what I felt as well. The stag was made into a target of the young princes' grief just as the Queen and the Royal Family had become targets of the public's grief. The Queen sympathized with the stag because she recognized their similar situation.
shareOh dear, where to begin?
Your post makes some very good points, but is too heavy-handed pro Diana. The woman had many faults that also contributed to the failure of her marriage, her unhappiness, and her death. She was an immature, fragile, needy, emotionally-damaged young woman when she married into the royal family. She was ill-equipped to deal with the strict rules of being a royal. She was even less equipped for marriage —to anyone, but especially to a man so much older than she who was just as trapped by royal Tradition as she would later become.
Because she didn’t have the tools needed to navigate such difficulties, she made so many poor choices. So much attention-seeking behavior that gave her a quick thrill for a moment, but ultimately could not fill the void and ease her pain— and ultimately, only made things worse for herself. The worst of which, and most damaging to herself, was the Panorama interview. She felt so pleased with herself at the time, but later came to regret it. It was such a rash, poor decision on her part. She never considered how her sons would feel about it, both at the time, and years later. She knew full well that such interviews never go away, disappear, or are forgotten, and that Panorama interview is unfortunately part of her legacy she left the world, and her sons.
The Panorama interview was in bad taste, and makes her look vindictive, desperate and dramatic. It is also the reason why the queen finally agreed the divorce was necessary and the quicker the better.
The queen, and the royal “firm,” Have made plenty of mistakes, especially at the time of Diana’s tragic death. She was ill-equipped to deal with the changing world. If she had acted sooner, instead of digging her heels in and crying “No precedence” at every suggestion, things in London would not have gotten so out of hand and she would not have been so personally humiliated. But in the end, I think it turned out to be a good thing she learned that lesson.
that's the impression i got for sure. albeit subtle, i think that this definitely was implied throughout.
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I think that's a cold and inaccurate statement, Dutch. She was moved by Diana's death, as it showed more than once even if they weren't close, and the stag brought emotion that she'd been repressing, about a lot of things. The whole point of the film was not that she didn't care, but that she kept things quiet because she thought it proper. Nor was it Diana's charity work that the royal family disapproved of, but the wearing of her heart on her sleeve.
shareI felt it was a very moving scene - it was the moment where the Queen's real emotions could burst through the straight-faced facade this woman has been forced to wear for half a century.
Have you ever had the loss of someone close? The magnitude of emotion can be overwhelming, and not necessary show outwardly. And then you find yourself bursting into tears while watching the silliest of things - some sappy TV show.
It's a trigger that sets off the flood of emotion.
I totally agree. I went to see the movie twice when it came out, just because of this scene, and I screened it again recently. Every time, the contrast between the deep feeling for the deer and the lack of feeling for Diana comes screaming off the screen. I still see it now as I did when I first saw the movie, as breath-taking lese majeste. The audacity of it literally makes me catch my breath. In the old days, the entire film crew would have been shut up in the tower of London, or worse.
shareExcellent observation! I also thought the stag represented the queen, the royal family, and British tradition - stately, elite, aloof, and greatly to be admired.
That scene is my favorite of the movie and encapsulated for me the entire encounter of Queen Elizabeth II with the changing world around her. Yet for all the changes in the world, the British monarchy provides a solid rock to which society (not just Britain's) is eternally moored.
Mirren's portrayal of the Queen's sobbing was quite moving. It was not off-camera but, in a way, performed a similar function. I don't know whether that was Mirren's stage craft or Fears' directing (likely a combination). However, to portray the Queen sobbing yet display her eternal dignity was ingenious staging.
you took the words out of my mouth .. agree with you ..
shareYes the stag represented Diana, at the funeral her brother compared her to Diana, a goddess of hunting. The fact that the Windsors hunted the stag is symbolic of the suggestion that Diana was first pursued by them, but they never got her (likewise the royals fail to kill the stag) - a businessman eventually kills it which is symbolic of death by paparazzi.
What i found amusing is that when Lizzie goes to see the remains of the animal she seems to give a little smile and then says 'pass on my compliments to the hunter who killed it'.
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Her Majesty's actions as shown as best described as "manners."
Those who study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.
Don't read more into this than just that the Queen loves and appreciates animals more than humans. She surrounds herself with dogs, horses and shooes the stag away when she hears someone coming.
She is upset when told that the animal was wounded, but hid her feelings by making that comment about those who had killed it. After all she is the Queen.
I thought that, too - especially given the way the stag was killed by a "paying guest" - and badly, too.
But I also see the stag as the British character, and how it seemed to be being killed by adhering to non-traditional ways.
Those who study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.
I agree, but...
perhaps the stag, a magnificent animal bred by the Queens estate to be hunted and killed is symbolic of Diana. The Queen realises this and shoos the animal away, perhaps understanding the precious nature and fragility of life in something so beautiful.
... It's a shame her family continues to shoot them then, really, isn't it?!
Born when she kissed me, died when she left me, lived whilst she loved me share