Tuna Salad Sandwich
OK, I have to rant a little about the Tudors. There really aren't any spoilers, since I'm mostly going on about the portrayal of the personalities.
The major issue I am having with this show is a lack of awareness of the - I don't know - multiple levels of political and personal meaning people's actions can have. As anyone who remembers their history will know, Henry VIII tries to get his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. In the show, Catherine is portrayed as a pious woman who genuinely loves Henry (who seemingly has done nothing to earn such regard) and feels his attempts to get an annulment are a sin against the church. And you know what, all that may have been true. However, the show seems to forget that she had other, equally valid, reasons to protest. Indeed, valid reasons to have lied about the consummation of her marriage to Henry's brother over twenty years before. She can not have been unaware that her marriage represented a political alliance between England and Spain. Henry's annulment would (and did) completely change the political landscape of Europe. Catherine is the sister of the King of Spain, and a close relative to the holy Roman Emperor, as well as a critical link in England's relationship with the Papacy.
But I think more importantly, her marriage to Henry was her place in the world, and her daughter's place. Catherine would literally have had no control over her own future once Henry got rid of her, and possibly been deprived not only of rank but any income or wealth she might otherwise possess. And I don't necessarily mean that in a gold digger sense. Even today, women often are forced to give up, abandon or dissolve all of their assets in a divorce, leaving them with nothing to support themselves or their children. In a time where women had few rights and no control over the major decisions that affected their lives, this must have been a major consideration for Catherine. She could have hated Henry and still been fighting to stay his legitimate wife for that reason alone. Instead, on the show, she only ever talks about how much she loves Henry and bemoan what is going on while accusing his advisers of stirring up all this trouble.
Also, a declaration that her marriage was never legitimate in the first place would make her daughter Mary an illegitimate child, freezing her out of not only contention for the throne but any inheritance other than what Henry chose to give her. I doubt she could have counted on Henry being generous, under the circumstances. And Mary's prospects for a husband (which would be the biggest thing determining her future at that time) would be seriously affected as a bastard. No Princes or Kings would take a bastard daughter as queen, a huge come down for a girl who is the daughter of a king, the niece of another, and related to most of the royal families of Europe. Or more importantly, one who was concieved to be a legitimate heir to the King of England. Mary's future had to have weighed heavily on Catherine's mind, but the show treats it as an afterthought. I think Mary might have been the major reason why Catherine fought so hard and took the desperate risks she did to stay the legitimate Queen of England.
Tangentially, it is one of the great mysteries of history whether Catherine ever did consummate her marriage to Henry's brother. But I don't think the truth would have mattered for her - Catherine would have ample reason to insist it was not. Aside from pressure from her relatives to ensure the alliance with England stayed in place, Catherine could hardly have insisted for 20 years she came virgin to her marriage with Henry and reverse that at the last minute because he got an itch for another woman. I don't think "Oh, yeah, BTW, I lied" would have helped her on any front. As Queen it would not do to have her integrity questioned and her reputation trashed. Again, it would not help her daughter, even if it didn't declare her illegitimate outright. Catherine's entire life was built on the premise that she never slept with her first husband, and true or not, she could never admit privately or publicly that it wasn't true. I find it interesting that the show seems to imply that it was true by virtue of their interpretation of Catherine's character. I am not nearly so certain that it wasn't. It would not have been unthinkable for other people to have been in the room on the wedding night, or to demand to see the bloody sheets the next morning, specifically to avoid allegations the marriage was not valid because it was not consummated. And even if Catherine is as honest and righteous as she is portrayed, she may not have had a choice but to lie about her first marriage. With two kings intent on her marriage to Henry, she may literally have had no chance to tell the truth. And once the marriage was fact, no choice but to continue the lie.
Don't even get me started on their interpretation of Anne Boleyn.
I guess my major gripe is the show locks itself into a one dimensional interpretation of the characters, which it often has a difficult time reconciling with the historical facts. Henry was hardly the overbearing jackass they show him being - he may have had that aspect to him, but he was also the enlightened ruler who loved his daughters enough to educate them well beyond what was considered sufficient for girls at the time. He lived in the middle of a complex web of finances, politics and family ties, not as the all powerful ruler popular culture portrays for kings of this period. And he was king - so the people around him had to be constantly aware of that fact. Can you truly blame a woman for becoming the King's mistress when he pursues her so ardently? Anne Boelyn was extraordinary because she said no, and took an awful gamble in doing it, whatever her real reasons for doing so. She could not have been as simple as the show makes her out to be, though she needn't have been the scheming whore other sources make her out to be, either. Cardinal Wolsey was not all coniving. Indeed, he was in a lot of ways a brilliant administrator, and his keeping of a small personal fortune and a mistress was not at all unusual for the time. I just feel this show, while entertaining, lacks depth. The time period and personalities were so dynamic this show really fails to do all that justice.
The major issue I am having with this show is a lack of awareness of the - I don't know - multiple levels of political and personal meaning people's actions can have. As anyone who remembers their history will know, Henry VIII tries to get his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. In the show, Catherine is portrayed as a pious woman who genuinely loves Henry (who seemingly has done nothing to earn such regard) and feels his attempts to get an annulment are a sin against the church. And you know what, all that may have been true. However, the show seems to forget that she had other, equally valid, reasons to protest. Indeed, valid reasons to have lied about the consummation of her marriage to Henry's brother over twenty years before. She can not have been unaware that her marriage represented a political alliance between England and Spain. Henry's annulment would (and did) completely change the political landscape of Europe. Catherine is the sister of the King of Spain, and a close relative to the holy Roman Emperor, as well as a critical link in England's relationship with the Papacy.
But I think more importantly, her marriage to Henry was her place in the world, and her daughter's place. Catherine would literally have had no control over her own future once Henry got rid of her, and possibly been deprived not only of rank but any income or wealth she might otherwise possess. And I don't necessarily mean that in a gold digger sense. Even today, women often are forced to give up, abandon or dissolve all of their assets in a divorce, leaving them with nothing to support themselves or their children. In a time where women had few rights and no control over the major decisions that affected their lives, this must have been a major consideration for Catherine. She could have hated Henry and still been fighting to stay his legitimate wife for that reason alone. Instead, on the show, she only ever talks about how much she loves Henry and bemoan what is going on while accusing his advisers of stirring up all this trouble.
Also, a declaration that her marriage was never legitimate in the first place would make her daughter Mary an illegitimate child, freezing her out of not only contention for the throne but any inheritance other than what Henry chose to give her. I doubt she could have counted on Henry being generous, under the circumstances. And Mary's prospects for a husband (which would be the biggest thing determining her future at that time) would be seriously affected as a bastard. No Princes or Kings would take a bastard daughter as queen, a huge come down for a girl who is the daughter of a king, the niece of another, and related to most of the royal families of Europe. Or more importantly, one who was concieved to be a legitimate heir to the King of England. Mary's future had to have weighed heavily on Catherine's mind, but the show treats it as an afterthought. I think Mary might have been the major reason why Catherine fought so hard and took the desperate risks she did to stay the legitimate Queen of England.
Tangentially, it is one of the great mysteries of history whether Catherine ever did consummate her marriage to Henry's brother. But I don't think the truth would have mattered for her - Catherine would have ample reason to insist it was not. Aside from pressure from her relatives to ensure the alliance with England stayed in place, Catherine could hardly have insisted for 20 years she came virgin to her marriage with Henry and reverse that at the last minute because he got an itch for another woman. I don't think "Oh, yeah, BTW, I lied" would have helped her on any front. As Queen it would not do to have her integrity questioned and her reputation trashed. Again, it would not help her daughter, even if it didn't declare her illegitimate outright. Catherine's entire life was built on the premise that she never slept with her first husband, and true or not, she could never admit privately or publicly that it wasn't true. I find it interesting that the show seems to imply that it was true by virtue of their interpretation of Catherine's character. I am not nearly so certain that it wasn't. It would not have been unthinkable for other people to have been in the room on the wedding night, or to demand to see the bloody sheets the next morning, specifically to avoid allegations the marriage was not valid because it was not consummated. And even if Catherine is as honest and righteous as she is portrayed, she may not have had a choice but to lie about her first marriage. With two kings intent on her marriage to Henry, she may literally have had no chance to tell the truth. And once the marriage was fact, no choice but to continue the lie.
Don't even get me started on their interpretation of Anne Boleyn.
I guess my major gripe is the show locks itself into a one dimensional interpretation of the characters, which it often has a difficult time reconciling with the historical facts. Henry was hardly the overbearing jackass they show him being - he may have had that aspect to him, but he was also the enlightened ruler who loved his daughters enough to educate them well beyond what was considered sufficient for girls at the time. He lived in the middle of a complex web of finances, politics and family ties, not as the all powerful ruler popular culture portrays for kings of this period. And he was king - so the people around him had to be constantly aware of that fact. Can you truly blame a woman for becoming the King's mistress when he pursues her so ardently? Anne Boelyn was extraordinary because she said no, and took an awful gamble in doing it, whatever her real reasons for doing so. She could not have been as simple as the show makes her out to be, though she needn't have been the scheming whore other sources make her out to be, either. Cardinal Wolsey was not all coniving. Indeed, he was in a lot of ways a brilliant administrator, and his keeping of a small personal fortune and a mistress was not at all unusual for the time. I just feel this show, while entertaining, lacks depth. The time period and personalities were so dynamic this show really fails to do all that justice.