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History, Memory, and Nation in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies

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History, Memory, and Nation in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2015-02-10 "Beneath every history, another history:" History, Memory, and Nation in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies Baker, Theresa Rae Baker, T. R. (2015). "Beneath every history, another history:" History, Memory, and Nation in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25109 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2102 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY “Beneath every history, another history:” History, Memory, and Nation in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Theresa Rae Baker A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LITERATURE CALGARY, ALBERTA JANUARY, 2015 © Theresa Rae Baker 2015 Abstract In the years since I began this degree, Hilary Mantel has risen from obscurity to ubiquity. The many years she has toiled away as author, reviewer, and journalist have left behind an impressive collection of novels, short stories, countless reviews, sharp-witted critiques on her society, and a memoir. In each piece of her writing, Mantel makes one thing clear: she is a political animal. In Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel uses historical fiction to call for a new perspective not only on the saintly Thomas More as a flawed, tragic hero, but also on Anne Boleyn as a tragic scapegoat, while at the same time laying the foundation for seeing Cromwell’s fall as that of another tragic hero, the victim of a nation that slips back into Medieval attitudes and practices, mirroring Mantel’s critique of her own nation’s similar slip into archaic attitudes and practices. Because of Mantel’s use of myth in these two novels, I begin with an examination of magic and myth in the British context, relying heavily on the work of Keith Thomas. In order to understand the nature of history and its interaction with historical fiction, I explore how history has evolved from occupying the genre of literature to becoming a social science then, following the arguments of Hayden White, becoming once again a close cousin of literature because of its narrative structure. After establishing the original framework for historical fiction first set out by Georg Lukács, I then go on to explore more recent analyses of historical fiction, including Ann Rigney and Mantel herself. In order to better understand how early Tudor England can be considered a nation, I examine the different approaches—from Benedict Anderson and Eric Hobsbawm to Liah Greenfeld and Philip S. Gorski—to what a nation is and the history of how the idea of nation has evolved. ii Moving on from the theoretical framework, I focus on the major tragic characters of Mantel’s Cromwell novels: Sir Thomas More, Anne Boleyn, and Thomas Cromwell. Because of Mantel’s frequent use of ekphrasis, I deem it necessary to discuss some of the key portraits featured within the pages of her novels. Distinguishing Anne Boleyn from More and Cromwell is the absence of a verifiable portrait of her image. My research will contribute to the relatively small amount of critical scholarship— a recent search of MLA International Bibliography (29 Oct. 2014) produces nineteen entries for Mantel but, for example, three hundred and sixty for Ian McEwan—performed on the work of an author clearly, as indicated by her back-to-back Man Booker Prize wins for the novels in this study, receiving critical praise from well-established reviewers. iii Acknowledgements I would like to extend my thanks to the Department of English, the University of Calgary, the A. T. J. Cairns Memorial Scholarship, and the Nora and Ken Green Scholarship for making this project easier through their generous financial support. I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to my committee for your insights and advice throughout my journey from novice to academic. To Professor Susan Bennett, whose classes I have enjoyed at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, thank you for your guidance in the years leading up to this achievement and the ongoing support with which you have provided me during this final stage. To Professor Pamela McCallum, thank you for your support and for your attention to my work-in-progress ramblings and revisions over coffee. Finally, to my supervisor, Professor Harry Vandervlist, thank you for your mentoring, your patience, and your academic advice. You have made this journey interesting and rewarding without forgetting that humour makes all challenges easier. My friends and colleagues have provided wonderful encouragement, sharing in both my successes and my challenges. My thanks go out to Connie Luther, Lourdes Arciniega, Aaryon Clarke, Carmen Derkson, Erina Harris, Allison Mader, Colin Martin, Natalie Robinson, Sheba Rahim, Penny Andrews, Judith Arato, Kendy Bentley, Karen Booth, Andrea Fugeman-Millar, Maureen Hindmarsh, Rayna Rabin, and Kim Strachan. I could not have achieved this academic success without the love and support of my family: my overwhelming gratitude to Lee and David, Lindsay and Alex. iv Dedication Lee, Lindsay, and David, I love you all very much. v Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….... ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….... iv Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………..... v Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………….. vi List of Figures and Illustrations……………………………………………………………..viii Chapter One: Introduction ……………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter Two: Theory……………………………………………………………………… 14 2.1 Mantel’s Magical, Mythical England ………………………………………….. 16 2.1.1 Magic: Prophecy as a Political Tool…………………………………… 20 2.1.2 Magic: Politically Motivated Accusations of Witchcraft……………… 23 2.1.3 Mythical England: “an undercurrent of feelings shared by many people”………………. 26 2.2 Academic History, Public History, Fictional History……………………………. 32 2.3 Nation and Nationalism………………………………………………………….. 41 2.3.1 Nationalism: Fundamentals……………………………………………. 44 2.3.2 Primordialists, Perennialists, and Neo-Perennialists………………….. 45 2.3.3 Biblical Nationalism…………………………………………………… 50 2.3.4 Gorski’s “Outline of a Postmodern Theory of Nationalism…………… 57 2.4 Historical Fiction………………………………………………………………… 60 2.4.1 Lukács and the “mediocre, average English gentleman”……………… 62 2.4.2 Late-twentieth- and Early-twenty-first-century interventions…………. 64 2.4.3 Ann Rigney: Historical Fiction and Cultural Memory………………… 72 2.4.4 Mantel on Historical Fiction…………………………………………… 78 2.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….. 81 Chapter Three: Sir Thomas More, National Hero……………………………………….. 87 3.1 More’s Family Portrait…………………………………………………………... 89 3.2 More’s Ambition………………………………………………………………… 95 3.2.1 Utopia as Ambition’s Tool……………………………………………. 97 3.2.2 Self-fashioning……………………………………………………… 101 3.3 More’s Pride…………………………………………………………………… 105 3.4 More’s Cruelty………………………………………………………………… 116 3.4.1 Torture………………………………………………………………. 117 3.4.2 Ridicule……………………………………………………………… 121 3.5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….. 123 vi Chapter Four: Thomas Cromwell, Renaissance Man…………………………………. 129 4.1 Holbein’s The Ambassadors……………………………………………………. 133 4.2 Cromwell’s Ambition………………………………………………………….. 145 4.3 Cromwell’s Pride………………………………………………………………..150 4.3.1 Pride in His Family and Position…………………………………….. 152 4.3.2 Attacks and Vengeance………………………………………………. 156 4.3.2.1 Revenge Against Priests……………………………………..160 4.3.2.2 Revenge Against More………………………………………165 4.3.2.3 Revenge Against Four Courtiers…………………………….170 4.4 Cromwell’s Generosity………………………………………………………….178 4.1 Cromwell’s Generosity to the Poor……………………………………. 183 4.2 Cromwell’s Generosity to Women………………………………………186 4.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….189 Chapter Five: Anne Boleyn, National Matriarch…………………………………………195 5.1 The Anne Boleyn Portrait………………………………………………………...198 5.2 Ambition………………………………………………………………………….202 5.2.1 Strategist………………………………………………………………..204 5.2.2 Religious Reformist…………………………………………………….218 5.3 Losing Henry’s Trust……………………………………………………………..225 5.4 Myths of Female Sinfulness………………………………………………………229 5.4.1 Anne Boleyn and the Myth of Jezebel………………………………….231 5.4.2 Anne Boleyn and the Myth of Albina…………………………………..235 5.4.3 Anne Boleyn and the Myth of the Witch……………………………….243 5.5 National Matriarch………………………………………………………………..251 5.6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..258 Chapter Six: Conclusion……………………………………………………………………264 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………………….269 vii List of Figures and Illustrations Fig. 1. Hans Holbein, The Younger, Study for the Family Portrait of Sir Thomas More, Kunstmuseum, Basel, Switzerland…………………….………..….……………… 90 Fig. 2. Roland Lockey, The Family of Sir Thomas More (after Hans Holbein, the Younger), National Trust Collections. Great Britain…… …………………… 91 Fig. 3. Hans Holbein, The Ambassadors, National Gallery, London, Great Britain………133 Fig. 4. Anne Boleyn, The National Portrait Gallery, London, Great Britain………………198 Fig. 5. Hans Holbein, Portrait of
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