Power Politics in the Works of Hilary Mantel

BRINGING UP THE ISSUES OF WOMEN IN HILARY MANTEL’S WOLF HALL AND BRING UP THE BODIES Submitted by Dr.Bhakti Vaishnav The relationship between historical fiction and women has been multidimensional. The genre has earned larger readership amongst women but the women authors of historical fictions have not been received with equal vigour . Historical fiction has been quite popular throughout history and has been associated with female readers for its feminine concerns such as love, romance and domestic intrigues. The litmus test for historical fiction has been the treatment of accuracy. The genre was revived by Sir Walter Scott but the contemporary feminist discourse suggest that his novels were largely aimed at male audience . Rob Roy and Ivan Hoe received an acceptance for their basis in historical facts. The acceptance of Scott’s work was preceded by an outright rejection of Maria Edgeworth ‘s Castle Rackrent for its inaccuracy and overpowering element of romance. Thus, the acceptance of Walter Scott’s works established gendered distinction heavily . It also advocated the misnomer on assumed links between women , romance and role of accuracy limited just as a plot device. As Diana Wallace puts it, the position on the genre ‘”has been to associate women’s historical novels with romance and thus to stigmatize it as escapist.”(Wallace 76) . The other issue of gender in historical fiction is the issue of representation. Histories of women or women in historical fiction are always in the margins. As Wallace remarks ,The key actors are male and the stories are so hero centric that the female characters often get reduced to caricatures. Their roles are generally on the extremes and unconvincingly exaggerated. “The associations of men with accuracy and historical fact perpetuated the view that women’s writing (or writing for women) was somehow automatically historically inaccurate and trivial, and indeed , contemporary historians continue to undermine the value of both women’s history and women histories. As a result, female historical figures were and are understood solely through male- authored narratives. This inherent bias further cultivates the view of history, history as the preserve of the male, and problematizes historical fiction by, for and about women. (Wallace 80) This limitation proliferated as the genre was flourishing in the hands of male authors. Therefore, the perception of female historical figures are lopsided or purposefully selective on some virtues and vices. Thus, the very point of accuracy, on which the male authorship is accepted ,wobbles and becomes vulnerable. Therefore , many of contemporary women writers of historical fiction have focused on the representation of women historical figures through a feminist intervention into traditional historical discourses. By providing agency to women in historical fiction, Contemporary authors like Margaret Atwood, Philipa Gregory, Sarah Walters, Belinda Starling , Kate Williams and Hilary Mantel have redeemed and reclaimed the position of female authors, female history and female figures from history. They represent the fictionalized account of the life of women in past with equal accuracy; sometimes creating a counter discourse to male accounts that have dominated so far. Amongst these women authors, Hilary Mantel has also achieved one more milestone by winning the Man Booker Prize twice. By winning this seemingly gender biased title ; she has joined the league of a few men who have received this award twice. Hilary Mantel is aware of the high brow approach towards women writers of historical fiction. But she has triumphantly overcome the barriers by projecting past as an indispensible aspect of human life. She has emphasized on the darker side of history also. The real challenge for her, is in balancing accuracy without allowing it to become an account of heinous account of past especially when she is dealing with medieval history of Europe. In an interview she has touched upon these issues in the following words, “The grumbling (against historical fiction) is aimed at literary fiction set in the past, which is accused of being, by its nature, escapist. It’s as if the past is a feathered sanctuary, a nest muffled from contention and the noise of debate, its events suffused by a pink , romantic glow. But this is not how, in practice, modern novelists see their subject matter. If anything , the opposite is true. A relation of past events brings you up against events and mentalities that, should you choose to describe them, would bring you to the borders of what your readers could bear. The danger you have to negotiate is not the dimpled coyness of the past- it is its obscenity.” (Hillary Mantel, Guardian, 17th October 2009) Wolf Hall published in 2009 and Bring Up the Bodies published in 2012 are essentially Mantel’s reimagining of the life and times during Thomas Cromwell- Henry VIII’s most effective servant. Wolf Hall is the story of six years in the reign of King Henry VIII , from 1529 to 1535. The story is narrated from Cromwell’s perspective, a commoner who rose to the position of King’s Chief Advisor .The novels are called Cromwell trilogy but there is a strong presence of women and their roles in the power play during the reign of Henry VIII. One of the major themes of the novel is power- how it is sought , how it is wielded, how it was distributed and positioned during that time and how it corrupts. The story is based on the issues of marriage of Henry VIII which was so central to the zeitgeist of the contemporary time and which brought out the separation of England from the church of Rome, one of the major breakthrough in European history. The novel shows the acute tension that existed between the church and the state. The notion of King as the representative of God and the church as the court of God and the power politics between the two is represented right from the beginning of the novel. As the central issue of Henry’s life was to get a male heir, women characters like Katherine and Anne occupy the central stage and participate in the power politics that is at the core of the events. Henry VIII was married to Katherine after the death of Arthur. She was married to Arthur at the age of fifteen. The novel takes us to the palace when after spending more than twenty years of marriage Henry has started doubting the validity of his marriage with his brother’s widow. The only child that survived in their marriage is frail Mary and Henry is tormented by the desire to have a male heir as he was convinced that a female ruler for England will bring only fragmentations and anarchy. When Cromwell takes us to the Cardinal Wolsey for the first time, the cardinal has already started to make arrangements and manipulate church proceedings to prove Henry’s marriage with Katherine as unlawful in the court of God so that King can remarry and get a male heir. The events that follow bring up the issues of the women in the royal palaces and the roles they play in the power politics. Queen Katherine has won sympathy of the people over centuries, her portrayal here is also drawn with stokes of sympathy and respect. She is a religious and devoted wife. She is convinced that her marriage with Henry VIII after Arthur’s death was lawful and sanctioned by religion. She doesn’t agree to divorce him .The king realizes that the church will not help much if Katherine doesn’t agree .in order to manage her , he visits her and tries to convince her to divorce him. Her resilient spirit is well depicted by Mantel in the following words: “You can hear what Katherine says. That wreck of a body, held together by lacing and says, encloses a voice that you can hear as far as Calais : it resounds from here to Paris, from here to Madrid, to Rome. She is standing on her status, she is standing on her rights; the windows are rattled, from here to Constantinople.” (Mantel 89) It stands for the extent and intensity of the storm this seemingly private affair of marriage is set to generate on the pages of history. The history reveals that the marriages amongst royal families are always driven by political agendas and more of a maneuver of power politics. Befittingly, Katherine was given in marriage to Prince Arthur of England to settle the disputes between England and Spain. Katherine is shown as a woman of head and heart. She does not succumb to King’s manipulations and enforcement very easily. The king manages to have a special court led by religious leaders for annulment of the marriage, he believes is depriving him of a male heir. Cardinal Wolsey believes that this will hurt her pride and she will not come out in public but contrary to the submissive nature that Katherine had shown till date , she appears to guard her marriage. However, this special arrangement made to serve Henry’s purpose cannot conclude anything and is adjourned mysteriously. The undercurrents reveal that the sovereignty of the Roman Church prevails in the entire dispute. The reason for this stand of Roman church Cardinal Wolsey deduces ,is the reign of Charles in Italy who is Queen Katherine. This also shows how power is wielded by the ruler over the church within his kingdom and how more powerful church controls the same ruler. It shows how power was distributed and how the power struggle existed between the king and the church during that time. Church definitely had more power when it came to control the public opinion and a king could not disregard public opinion. The king can manage and can exercise his power to manage church but could not overrule the decisions taken by church. Therefore, Katherine uses her connection to control the church that Henry controls within his kingdom. She aptly uses the same premise of the power of church, the validity of its declaration and its unquestionable decisions. Thus, Hilary Mantel shows queen Katherine as a woman of inner strength and conviction. The episode also provides an insight into the attitude of the society to reduce women just as womb. Her role was to bear children and rear the family .Even the queen was vulnerable and had to perform her duty of child bearing. If she failed to provide a male heir , she was thrown out and replaced by another womb that can promise an heir. Cardinal Wolsey justifies his act of replacing Katherine with Anne who has a family with a good fertility record by saying: “ Ah, but women, you see. Women reading the Bible, there’s another point of contention. Does she know what Brother Martin thinks is a woman’s place? We shouldn’t mourn, he says, if our wife or daughter dies in childbirth- she’s only doing what God made her for.”(Mantel 124) Katherine’s relationship of with Cardinal Wolsey also involve the power struggle that existed between the cardinal and the queen. The Cardinal had always kept a check on the behavior and life of the queen. All her Spanish attendants were gradually replaced by English women who were trained under Cardinal. He also tactfully sees to it that the queen never meets any Spanish ambassador alone. His dislike for Henry’s insistence on asking Katherine for her opinion or make choices in the matters of even purchase shows he was fiercely protective and quite possessed by his sense of duty to the king. Cardinal Wolsey tries hard to keep the king happy and as a result , gets into harming both Katherine and Anne. He helps the king in his design to get rid of Katherine .Katherine does not directly confront Wolsey but straight away goes to Rome to sustain her marriage. But he pays heavily for his habit of meddling when Anne takes charge of the King’s heart. Entire event show the politics of the King and his men; the conflicts between church and the state. Gradually Katherine falls and Henry uses direct and indirect methods to force her agree to the divorce. Towards the end of the novel things turn bad to worse , Katherine is shifted to a distant , cold and secluded place in despair and misery. The King is surmounted with paranoia and fear of revolt against him due to the public sympathy with Katherine and her daughter Mary, he tries to push the queen into anonymity; she is also separated from her daughter and forbidden to meet her .Towards the end , the resilient and graceful queen is transformed to a completely marginalized victim of the male dominated power politics , of course within which Anne also plays a vital role . Anne Boleyn rises gradually in power with Katherine’s fall. She is a master player and knows how to manage the King. She is aware of Henry’s obsession for a male heir and also about his shifting interests in women. She doesn’t allow the King to treat her in the same manner he had treated her sister Mary. She uses his obsession and his interest in her beauty as an opportunity. She rises in power for her promising ability to bear male heirs for the kingdom. Even before she is a full queen, she starts yielding power and controlling court matters. She starts accompanying the King in the formal meetings too. She also takes revenge with Cardinal Wolsey for depriving her of her love marriage. She arranged for robbing away Cardinal’s wealth and place in London . Anne had been a victim of power politics and was forced to abandon the secret marriage she had with Harry Percy. Though her marriage was not out of innocent love but to fulfill her ambitions, Cardinal Wolsey had played the key role to call her marriage off. He had also made it sure that Anne goes back and gets married to the Butler with whom she was to get married originally. Anne takes the revenge immediately as soon as she comes to power. Once she is sure of Henry’s incessant interest in her, she pushes the cardinal out of his palace and place in the society. He is sent to Putney from London and all his wealth .and belongings are confiscated. This event is very crucial as Cromwell avenges his master’s fall in Bring up Bodies when he executes the punishment to Anne and her lovers. It is because of her, the King and his men decide to break away from the Roman church and have a church within their own kingdom so that the king could be divorced . Her refusal to allow the King to have intimacy precipitates the break away from the Roman church. The King gets a separate papal jury that annuls the marriage between Henry VIII and Katherine. Anne seems to be carrying the king’s child before the judgment is declared. Quite contrary to the expectations, she delivers a baby girl . Having delivered Elizabeth, she does not quiver from her power centre. She instigates the King to make forty of the men in the court to frame charges against the Cardinal. The possibility of the male heir in the second pregnancy brings in more power. It is at this time, that she wants to get Lady Mary removed from the line of succession through a bill. The terms of the bill makes her furious as it says that Henry can remarry if “ it should happen your said dear and entirely beloved wife Queen Anne to decease”( Mantel 537) Anne’s insecurity here, is not entirely misplaced as she knows that her life and the power that she enjoys is solely dependent on the deliverance of a male child. She can be removed from the palace and can be killed under a conspiracy for the same reason, the king has divorced Katherine. The bill astutely underlines few things that can help the king take position according to his convenience. Besides the phrase on hypothetical premature death of Anne, it says , “ And if she has a son, that son will inherit, heirs male lawfully begotten.” (Mantel 538) The entire scene reveals the undercurrents of power structure within the court. Anne by now has shown her ambitions and power hunger blatantly and her severe revenges are also a concern for the men who work for the king. The bill creates a condition with the help of which princess Elizabeth is granted the succession but it also keeps a provision to eradicate Anne if the need arises. Anne’s impatience and rushed nomination of her friends for the key positions is also to gain some men in the politics who can favour her if she cannot deliver a male child. Thus, the deal of womb that Anne has made with the king is potential of becoming ruthless. The danger lurks around and Queen Anne is aware of it. She also wants to suppress all those who can be of any threat to her position. After Cardinal Wolsey, Katherine and Mary she conspires against Thomas More. She wants to eliminate him therefore she asks the minister to add his name to be framed. More did not actually have any role in the matter and has shown his strength .She is told that More has been very clear on his stand she defies the idea and she says , “ But it will frighten him, I want him frightened. Fright may unmake a man. I have seen it occur.” (Mantel 541) Wolf Hall ends with the scenes that depict Cromwell and Anne reigning and avenged. However, it is Bring Up the Bodies that depicts the downfall of Anne . This sequel shows how Anne could not fulfill the preconditioned promise of bearing an heir to the throne which culminates in her decline. Her decline is erratic, unpredictable and more torturous than Katherine’s. The Boleyn denoument is not divine or a poetic justice ; it is rather a bloody manner in which the male dominated power structure decides to teach an ambitious and flirtatious queen a lesson for intervening in their power games without performing her womb tasks . Anne enters the power games with full swing and tries to match the male dominated game but she doesn’t know the fact that her power is momentary and she is vulnerable too. She knows the rules of the games but she can’t play well enough as her premise for the game is unpredictable . She is granted a place in the game for the very reasons that restrict women’s role in the society .Her rise is based on the condition for the duty assigned to her by gender constructs which she fails to perform and that is why she is forced for a sudden and unsympathetic exit. Hilary Mantel also enhances the heroic qualities of Cromwell by showing him respectful for women. Henry’s character is contrasted with Cromwell. Cromwell exhibits a balanced view towards woman. A 21st century woman writer is writing his character as a hero. Therefore his character shows streaks of liberal thinking . He is working against Anne but that has nothing to do with his perception of woman in general. His personal life and the conduct earns him respect from contemporary female readers. Cromwell’s treatment of women is different than the other male characters in the story. He marries a widow, even if to get money and status but provides her with love and comfort. He encourages Liz to run her business and wishes she travels with her to see the business at Antwerp and learn entrepreneurship from other places in Europe. He makes his daughters learn Greek besides other education. Thus , the novel shows the politics of the King and his men; the conflict between church and the state through the two marriages of the King; none of which fulfilled his desire of male son. The issues are treatment of medieval times of women as womb, treatment of women as a liability if she is a widow, women as commodity that can be offered or exchanged in marriage for political advantages, the concept of virginity and helplessness of a woman in proving the same when challenged in public, societal and religious norms on women and marriage and how women evidently used the same gender constructs and impositions to their own advantage. The power politics is between men and men. Women also play an active role but they are used to suit the purpose on either side. If they can serve the purpose on any side momentary victory and power is granted to her. It is a sort of reappraising the genre of historical fiction and the concerns it raises about women, history and representation. Mantel reconstructs and reintroduces the female figure in to contemporary historical discourse as a subject in her own right. It shows how the state and the religion functioned as a conservative force, perpetuating and consolidating norms and practices in gender politics. These portrayals also reveal the tensions within existing gender politics . On the surface, it looks women are having power in this power politics but then if we look closely, they are just to suit the purposes of men who control them. Works Cited Mantel ,Hilary. Wolf Hall. London. Fourth Estate : 2009. Print. Wallace, Diana. The Woman’s Historical Novel: British Woman Writers 1900-2000. Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan: 2005. Print. Interview .Guardian, 17th October 2009