Bring Up The Bodies

Content Warning: The novel and the guide reference pregnancy loss and domestic abuse.

Cromwell is depicted as a powerful man, who can navigate shifting allegiances and predict the future political landscape. Nonetheless, he is aware that his position and power have been achieved because of the king’s favor: “Henry has turned to him; Henry has sworn him in” (34). Cromwell is forced to capitulate to Henry’s whims and desires because the king’s good graces are the only thing that cements his position. Not only is Henry’s affection paramount to maintain, but his displeasure is necessary to avoid. Cromwell is haunted by memories of Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas More, both of whom were men he respected. They both fell from grace, and their deaths are either directly or indirectly connected to their failure to please Henry. Cromwell imagines Wolsey warning him, “[I]f [Henry] wants a new wife, fix him one. I didn’t, and I am dead” (66). Cromwell’s willingness to do whatever it takes to maintain his position is not driven solely by his own ambitions; it is a basic instinct for self-preservation in a potentially life-threatening situation.

The requirement of obeying the king’s whims is particularly arduous because Henry is so capricious and demanding.