Richards "in the 1550s it proved impossible to sidestep the issues of female succession"4 and thus the un-debated subject would not 'fizzle away' during the sixteenth century. It is therefore safe to stress the point that these two monarchs, along with others around Europe such as Mary Queen of Scots, had a major influence on how opinions were shaped and re-morphed over the sixteenth century.
One way in which Jordan shows great strength in her article however is by the interpretation she gives of women in the sixteenth century and how in- depth her analysis is of how they were portrayed. Jordan gives detail on how religion structured society in the sixteenth century and how the idea of the divine right from God was enforced throughout the Tudor period. Also throughout the article, Jordan referred to events in History that may have enforced political thought surrounding the rule of women in the sixteenth century. One such event is the marriage between Mary I and Phillip in 1554. Jordan has specifically referenced to this in relation to how the political elite reacted and how from then on Mary was perceived in her realm. This is one of Jordan's strengths as in her article she not only gives short term factors to why women may have been perceived in the way they were, but also by the medium and longer term causes that may have aided in the re-shaping of political minds toward womanly rule. In addition, Jordan explains in her article that womanly rule may have been challenged more in Mary's reign than Elizabeth's due to her marriage to Philip5. Jordan quotes that "Mary still confronted what might be termed an ideological objection to her rule that is to govern as a woman"6, however, Jordan fails to go into detail on how this may have caused her subjects to doubt womanly rule in the sixteenth century. This is where Glyn Redworth's article 'Matters Impertinent to Women': Male and Female Monarchy under Philip and Mary' does however explain why her subjects may have become doubtful over womanly rule due to her marriage to Philip.
