Isabella

1. 不知道为什么，但这本书读起来很上瘾。

2. 单纯从读故事的角度看，一个果断、有行动力的角色总是受偏爱的，宁愿有一个行动而犯错的角色，比如Isabella, 哪怕大部分人都不会轻易为The Inquisition开脱，而不是一个Juana(the ‘Mad’)那样犹豫而畏缩、让人恨其不争的角色。

3. 当然在真实生活中，这是不合理的。我们不能指望所有人都理性，毕竟生活环境、情感经历都会对人造成影响。

4. 也许母系文明存在有其特别的合理性，比如大象、虎鲨等各种鲸豚类，保证一个宗系的长期生存和繁荣。Ferdinand, Philip(the fair)以及Henry VIII都这么渣（对妻子和孩子）且不明智，加上succession wars在中世纪那一带出现频率实在高。

5. 传记自然对传主带有偏爱，Isabella也是一个非常有能力的君主并非常值得敬佩的人。这大概是Monarchy固有的矛盾吧，morally corrupt and incompetent rulers certainly wreak havoc on the people, but a ‘good’ monarch doesn’t bring thorough or perpetual peace&prosperity. Of course the Inquisition is probably the most infamous event in Spanish history to foreigners, the genocides against Natives in the Americas are also a black mark on its history. All these no doubt started under Isabella’s reign, no matter how much the biographer tries to lessen her blame. That’s the point, a monarch’s actions carry consequences beyond her control and certainly extends beyond her lifetime, and moral judgement seldom steers in their favor. Yes, as listed by the author, she leaves many legacies. But as we inherit the history, we inherit the whole of it, the ‘good’ does not cancel out the ‘bad’. In actuality, passing moral judgement on the legacy of such an influential monarch is pointless in itself, history does not move in a straight line or a spiral with a direction, it’s a mess really, a mess that sort of goes round and round—if I have learned anything in my recent readings of history, this gets undone, reinstated, and taken again; a city gets taken, retaken and taken again. But of course, Isabella is certainly greater than most others, she is not undeserved of our admiration.