The Other Boleyn Girl: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Other Boleyn Girl: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the intricate relationships and motivations of the Boleyn family and their interactions with King Henry VIII and the Tudor court. At the center is Mary Boleyn, who is torn between her family's ambitions and her desire for a peaceful life after her love affair with the king leads to her sister Anne's rise and eventual fall. Anne Boleyn, characterized by her volatile nature, initially captivates Henry but ultimately faces execution due to her inability to produce a male heir and her political miscalculations. George Boleyn, their brother, navigates his own scandalous life but is caught in the treason charges that claim the lives of Anne and himself.
The family dynamics, influenced heavily by the manipulative Duke of Norfolk and their parents, Sir Thomas and Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, highlight the power struggles of the time. Other significant figures include Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife, whose marginalization sets the stage for the Boleyn sisters' ascent, and Jane Seymour, whose eventual marriage to Henry marks the end of the Boleyn influence at court. This analysis offers insights into the characters' motivations and the societal forces that shape their destinies, illuminating the complex interplay of personal ambition and familial duty in Tudor England.
The Other Boleyn Girl: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Philippa Gregory
First published: 2001
Genre: Novel
Locale: London; England; Europe
Plot: Historical
Time: 1521–36
Mary Boleyn, the younger daughter of the influential Boleyn family. Married to William Carey, she is ordered by her family to conduct a love affair with King Henry VIII and ultimately bears him two children. She is supplanted in the king's affections by her sister, Anne, who becomes queen. She grows tired of the intrigues and politics at court and longs for a quiet life in the country where she can be with her children. After the death of her first husband, she marries Sir William Stafford. Following her sister's arrest and execution, Mary flees to the countryside and rejoins her husband and children.
Henry VIII, king of England from 1509 to 1547. Married first to Katherine of Aragon, he gradually turns from her because she cannot bear him a male heir. He has an affair with Mary Boleyn before turning his attention to her sister, Anne. Henry breaks from the Catholic Church and engineers the annulment of his marriage to Katherine so that he can marry Anne. When Anne likewise fails to deliver a male child, he turns against her and has her beheaded, marrying her lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour soon afterward.
Anne Boleyn, Mary's older sister and a lady-in waiting to Queen Katherine. In constant rivalry with her sister, Anne eventually replaces her as Henry's mistress and later becomes queen. She is high strung and volatile, and her temper slowly alienates her husband, causing her to lose favor. Her miscarriage of a male child is the final straw, and she is imprisoned in the Tower of London and later executed.
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, Mary and Anne's brother. He and his entire family rise and fall based on Mary's and then Anne's affair with the king. He gains notoriety as an impulsive and wild young man. Despising his wife, he prefers intimacy with his male lover, Sir Francis Weston. It is suggested that George and Anne committed incest in an attempt to impregnate Anne with a son. Shortly thereafter, George and Anne are charged with high treason and executed.
Thomas “Uncle Howard” Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, the head of the Howard family, who are cousins to the royal Tudors. He is shrewd and manipulative and exerts almost total power over family members. The Howard and Boleyn women are pawns in his quest to make his family's influence paramount. Anne often challenges his authority after she becomes queen, and consequently, he abandons and sacrifices her when she loses the king's favor.
Sir Thomas Boleyn, the Earl of Wiltshire, the father of Mary, Anne, and George. He marries into the Howard family and complies with Thomas Howard's plan to use his daughters as bait to ensnare the king. His fortunes wax and wane according to the success of this scheme. Like his wife, he is a cold and rather distant parent, interacting with his children mainly to ensure their compliance with plans for advancing the Howard-Boleyn family's fortunes.
Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, the Countess of Wiltshire, the mother of Mary, Anne, and George. Thomas Howard's sister, she is a largely unmaternal and unsympathetic figure. She frequently calls her daughters fools and ninnies and emphasizes their duty to obey and to accept their role as instruments of family politics rather than individuals in their own right.
Katherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII's first wife and queen. A Spanish princess, she was originally married to Henry's older brother, Arthur. Arthur soon died, leaving the marriage unconsummated, and Henry married Katherine soon after ascending to the throne. Though initially close and happy, their marriage begins to fall apart when Katherine fails to have a son. Katherine is steadily marginalized until Anne, one of her ladies-in-waiting, takes her position.
Jane Parker Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford, George Boleyn's wife. Her marriage to George is seen as a disaster, with each despising the other. Jane is considered by Mary to be a malignant influence, a vicious gossip, and sexually twisted.
William Carey, Mary's first husband. He submits to his wife's liaison with Henry and allows her two children by the king, Catherine and Henry, to take his surname. He dies of the sweating sickness, leaving Mary a widow.
Sir William Stafford, Mary's second husband. He assists Mary through the turbulent events at Henry's court, spiriting her and her two children to safety in rural Essex.
Catherine Carey, Mary's first child by Henry. She becomes a lady-in-waiting to Anne.
Henry Carey, Mary's second child by Henry. His aunt Anne spitefully takes him as her ward.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry's chief minister. He incurs the ire of Anne and Henry over his failure to secure an annulment of Henry's first marriage to Katherine of Aragon from the Pope. He dies in disgrace.
Jane Seymour, one of Anne's ladies-in-waiting. She becomes Henry's love interest and ultimately his third wife.