Then see if Elizabeth had the motive and means to commit to such acts. By examining some of the events of Elizabeth's life, the motives should become clear and the means even clearer.
According to Dr. Susan Krauss Whitbourne, there are three possible reasons a person would seek revenge. First is that of equity, the idea of people seeking to achieve balance, often associated with the Biblical law of retribution, "an eye for and eye." Under this form of revenge the person who was once the victim, now becomes the aggressor. Similarly to how Elizabeth had gone from political pawn, to being the Queen controlling those who once controlled her.
For those who question if her way of retribution may have somehow caused hardships for her subjects, it is important to note here that revenge is not an exact science. Whitbourne also notes that revenge can be emotionally driven which could lead to some unintended negative consequences in the pragmatic sense. Another consequence may have been Elizabeth's may not have been able to experience love after her childhood, or experience the joys of motherhood (assuming she ever yearned for being a mother). It should be pointed out that being an emotionally driven response to wrong doings, different people may respond in different ways. One person could take a more assertive approach and another being passive aggressive. The passive aggressive response could put the initial wrongdoer in a state of extreme mental or emotional discomfort. Maybe the way that certain counselors may have felt when their Queen continued to find ways to avoid marriage and providing an heir. By being passive aggressive, Elizabeth could have made it clear to those who wronged her that she felt wronged but, at the same time, she would avoid giving her wrongdoers a valid reason for retaliation. .
The second motive Dr. Whitbourne noted was identity, or reputation. This motive for revenge is based on the damage being done to the victim's self-image or view of how others will see them.
