Wolf Hall

by

Hilary Mantel

Anne Boleyn Character Analysis

Anne Boleyn is King Henry’s second wife and mother to his daughter Elizabeth. Anne first comes to the English court as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. At the time, Anne is around 20 years old, and to Henry, she seems young and beautiful compared to Katherine. Henry hopes that if he marries Anne, he might finally have the son he wants so badly. Anne is ambitious and crafty, and she is determined to be the queen. She keeps Henry’s interest in her by refusing to sleep with him until they are married, and in the meantime, she has him give her and her family royal titles and allowances. Cromwell recognizes that Anne is solely interested in advancing her career and he respects her for this—he even thinks that they are alike in this way. When the Catholic Church does not sanction an annulment of Henry’s first marriage, the Parliament, led by Cromwell, tries to pass a law that declares Henry the head of the church in England so he won’t have to obey the Pope’s verdict. Before this law is passed, Henry and Anne get married in a small, secret ceremony. Anne becomes pregnant soon after, and after Parliament successfully passes the law, she is officially crowned as Queen of England in a grand ceremony. Her baby turns out to be a girl, whom they name Elizabeth, and Henry is hugely disappointed that he still doesn’t have a son. This, coupled with Anne’s unabashed ambition and constant anxiety, results in Henry and Anne’s relationship becoming strained. Henry starts to make increasingly poor decisions under her influence, and Cromwell fears that Henry is tiring of Anne. At the conclusion of the novel, the court is riding west for the summer and Cromwell hopes that Anne will return to court pregnant with a son, which would resolve many tensions.

Anne Boleyn Quotes in Wolf Hall

The Wolf Hall quotes below are all either spoken by Anne Boleyn or refer to Anne Boleyn . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Power, Ambition, and Deception Theme Icon
).
Part 2: Chapter 2 Quotes

“All along, we were misled, […] because when the king said, Mistress Anne is not to marry into Northumberland, I think, I think, the king had cast his eye on her, all that long time ago.”

[…]

“I wonder,” he says, “how it can be that, though all these people think they know the king’s pleasure, the king finds himself at every turn impeded.” At every turn, thwarted: maddened and baffled. The Lady Anne, whom he has chosen to amuse him, while the old wife is cast off and the new wife brought in, refuses to accommodate him at all. How can she refuse? Nobody knows.

[…] “How has my lord cardinal…” Missed a trick, he wants to say. But that is not a respectful way to speak of a cardinal.

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), George Cavendish (speaker), King Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey , Anne Boleyn , Harry Percy
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Chapter 1 Quotes

[H]e hears a boy’s voice, speaking behind a half-open door: it is Mark, the lute-player. “…so for my skill he says he will prefer me to Lady Anne. And I shall be glad, because what is the use of being here when any day the king may behead the old fellow? I think he ought, for the cardinal is so proud. […] Yes, for sure the lawyer will come down with him. I say ‘lawyer,’ but who is he? Nobody knows. They say he has killed men with his own hands and never told it in confession. […] So when I am with Lady Anne she is sure to notice me, and give me presents.” A giggle. […] Then Mark: “She is no maid. Not she.” […]

One can do nothing with this. Except bear it in mind.

Related Characters: Mark Smeaton (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, Cardinal Wolsey , Anne Boleyn , Walter Cromwell
Page Number: 155-156
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Chapter 2 Quotes

He sees her speed, intelligence and rigor. He didn’t think she would help the cardinal, but what do you lose by asking? He thinks, it is the first proposition I have put to her; probably not the last.

[…] There is a world of the possible. A world where Anne can be queen is a world where Cromwell can be Cromwell. He sees it; then he doesn’t. The moment is fleeting. But insight cannot be taken back. You cannot return to the moment you were in before.

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn
Page Number: 189
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Chapter 2 Quotes

“Look,” she says. She holds up her sleeves. The bright blue with which she has edged them, that kingfisher flash, is cut from the silk in which he wrapped her present of needlework patterns. How do matters stand now at Wolf Hall, he asks, as tactfully as he can: how do you ask after a family, in the wake of incest? She says in her clear little voice, “Sir John is very well. But then Sir John is always very well. […] Why don’t you make some business in Wiltshire and ride down to inspect us? Oh, and if the king gets a new wife, she will need matrons to attend her, and my sister Liz is coming to court. […] I would rather go up-country to the queen, myself. […]”

“If I were your father…no…” he rephrases it, “if I were to advise you, it would be to serve Lady Anne.”

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), Jane Seymour (speaker), King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn , Queen Katherine, John Seymour, Liz Seymour
Related Symbols: Animals, Clothes
Page Number: 359
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Chapter 1 Quotes

He finds himself praying: this child, his half-formed heart now beating against the stone floor, let him be sanctified by this moment, and let him be like his father’s father, like his Tudor uncles; let him be hard, alert, watchful of opportunity, wringing use from the smallest turn of fortune. If Henry lives twenty years, Henry who is Wolsey’s creation, and then leaves this child to succeed him, I can build my own prince: to the glorification of God and the commonwealth of England. Because I will not be too old. […] And I shall not be like Henry Wyatt and say, now I am retiring from affairs. Because what is there, but affairs?

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), King Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey , Anne Boleyn , Gregory Cromwell, Henry Wyatt
Page Number: 432-433
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Chapter 2 Quotes

It is magnificent. At the moment of impact, the king’s eyes are open, his body braced for the atteint; he takes the blow perfectly, its force absorbed by a body securely armored, moving in the right direction, moving at the right speed. His color does not alter. His voice does not shake.

“Healthy?” he says. “Then I thank God for his favor to us. As I thank you, my lords, for this comfortable intelligence.”

He thinks, Henry has been rehearsing. I suppose we all have.

[…]

The urge arises to put a hand on his shoulder, as one does for any inconsolable being. He resists it; simply folds his fingers, protectively, into the fist which holds the king’s heart. “One day we will make a great marriage for her.”

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), King Henry VIII (speaker), Anne Boleyn , Princess Elizabeth
Related Symbols: Hands
Page Number: 449-450
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Chapter 1 Quotes

There is a feral stink that rises from the hide of a dog about to fight. It rises now into the room, and he sees Anne turn aside, fastidious, and Stephen puts a hand to his chest, as if to ruffle up his fur, to warn of his size before he bares his teeth. “I shall be back with Your Majesty within a week,” he says. His dulcet sentiment comes out as a snarl from the depth of his guts.

[…]

Henry says, “Stephen is a resolute ambassador, no doubt, but I cannot keep him near me. […] I hate ingratitude. I hate disloyalty. That is why I value a man like you. You were good to your old master in his trouble. […]” He speaks as if he, personally, hadn’t caused the trouble; as if Wolsey’s fall were caused by a thunderbolt.

Related Characters: King Henry VIII (speaker), Stephen Gardiner (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, Cardinal Wolsey , Anne Boleyn
Related Symbols: Animals
Page Number: 501-502
Explanation and Analysis:

“The queen will be coming to visit her daughter soon. If you would simply greet her respectfully in the way you should greet your father’s wife—”

“—except she is his concubine—”

“—then your father would take you back to court, you would have everything you lack now, and the warmth and comfort of society. Listen to me, I intend this for your good. The queen does not expect your friendship, only an outward show. Bite your tongue and bob her a curtsy. It will be done in a heartbeat, and it will change everything. Make terms with her before her new child is born. If she has a son, she will have no reason afterward to conciliate you.”

“She is frightened of me,” Mary says, “and she will still be frightened, even if she has a son.”

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), Mary Tudor (speaker), King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn , Princess Elizabeth
Page Number: 516
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Chapter 2 Quotes

Henry stirs into life. “Do I retain you for what is easy? Jesus pity my simplicity, I have promoted you to a place in this kingdom that no one, no one of your breeding has ever held in the whole of the history of this realm.” He drops his voice. “Do you think it is for your personal beauty? The charm of your presence? I keep you, Master Cromwell, because you are as cunning as a bag of serpents. But do not be a viper in my bosom. You know my decision. Execute it.”

Related Characters: King Henry VIII (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn , Thomas More
Related Symbols: Animals
Page Number: 585
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Wolf Hall LitChart as a printable PDF.
Wolf Hall PDF

Anne Boleyn Quotes in Wolf Hall

The Wolf Hall quotes below are all either spoken by Anne Boleyn or refer to Anne Boleyn . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Power, Ambition, and Deception Theme Icon
).
Part 2: Chapter 2 Quotes

“All along, we were misled, […] because when the king said, Mistress Anne is not to marry into Northumberland, I think, I think, the king had cast his eye on her, all that long time ago.”

[…]

“I wonder,” he says, “how it can be that, though all these people think they know the king’s pleasure, the king finds himself at every turn impeded.” At every turn, thwarted: maddened and baffled. The Lady Anne, whom he has chosen to amuse him, while the old wife is cast off and the new wife brought in, refuses to accommodate him at all. How can she refuse? Nobody knows.

[…] “How has my lord cardinal…” Missed a trick, he wants to say. But that is not a respectful way to speak of a cardinal.

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), George Cavendish (speaker), King Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey , Anne Boleyn , Harry Percy
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Chapter 1 Quotes

[H]e hears a boy’s voice, speaking behind a half-open door: it is Mark, the lute-player. “…so for my skill he says he will prefer me to Lady Anne. And I shall be glad, because what is the use of being here when any day the king may behead the old fellow? I think he ought, for the cardinal is so proud. […] Yes, for sure the lawyer will come down with him. I say ‘lawyer,’ but who is he? Nobody knows. They say he has killed men with his own hands and never told it in confession. […] So when I am with Lady Anne she is sure to notice me, and give me presents.” A giggle. […] Then Mark: “She is no maid. Not she.” […]

One can do nothing with this. Except bear it in mind.

Related Characters: Mark Smeaton (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, Cardinal Wolsey , Anne Boleyn , Walter Cromwell
Page Number: 155-156
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Chapter 2 Quotes

He sees her speed, intelligence and rigor. He didn’t think she would help the cardinal, but what do you lose by asking? He thinks, it is the first proposition I have put to her; probably not the last.

[…] There is a world of the possible. A world where Anne can be queen is a world where Cromwell can be Cromwell. He sees it; then he doesn’t. The moment is fleeting. But insight cannot be taken back. You cannot return to the moment you were in before.

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn
Page Number: 189
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Chapter 2 Quotes

“Look,” she says. She holds up her sleeves. The bright blue with which she has edged them, that kingfisher flash, is cut from the silk in which he wrapped her present of needlework patterns. How do matters stand now at Wolf Hall, he asks, as tactfully as he can: how do you ask after a family, in the wake of incest? She says in her clear little voice, “Sir John is very well. But then Sir John is always very well. […] Why don’t you make some business in Wiltshire and ride down to inspect us? Oh, and if the king gets a new wife, she will need matrons to attend her, and my sister Liz is coming to court. […] I would rather go up-country to the queen, myself. […]”

“If I were your father…no…” he rephrases it, “if I were to advise you, it would be to serve Lady Anne.”

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), Jane Seymour (speaker), King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn , Queen Katherine, John Seymour, Liz Seymour
Related Symbols: Animals, Clothes
Page Number: 359
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Chapter 1 Quotes

He finds himself praying: this child, his half-formed heart now beating against the stone floor, let him be sanctified by this moment, and let him be like his father’s father, like his Tudor uncles; let him be hard, alert, watchful of opportunity, wringing use from the smallest turn of fortune. If Henry lives twenty years, Henry who is Wolsey’s creation, and then leaves this child to succeed him, I can build my own prince: to the glorification of God and the commonwealth of England. Because I will not be too old. […] And I shall not be like Henry Wyatt and say, now I am retiring from affairs. Because what is there, but affairs?

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), King Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey , Anne Boleyn , Gregory Cromwell, Henry Wyatt
Page Number: 432-433
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Chapter 2 Quotes

It is magnificent. At the moment of impact, the king’s eyes are open, his body braced for the atteint; he takes the blow perfectly, its force absorbed by a body securely armored, moving in the right direction, moving at the right speed. His color does not alter. His voice does not shake.

“Healthy?” he says. “Then I thank God for his favor to us. As I thank you, my lords, for this comfortable intelligence.”

He thinks, Henry has been rehearsing. I suppose we all have.

[…]

The urge arises to put a hand on his shoulder, as one does for any inconsolable being. He resists it; simply folds his fingers, protectively, into the fist which holds the king’s heart. “One day we will make a great marriage for her.”

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), King Henry VIII (speaker), Anne Boleyn , Princess Elizabeth
Related Symbols: Hands
Page Number: 449-450
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Chapter 1 Quotes

There is a feral stink that rises from the hide of a dog about to fight. It rises now into the room, and he sees Anne turn aside, fastidious, and Stephen puts a hand to his chest, as if to ruffle up his fur, to warn of his size before he bares his teeth. “I shall be back with Your Majesty within a week,” he says. His dulcet sentiment comes out as a snarl from the depth of his guts.

[…]

Henry says, “Stephen is a resolute ambassador, no doubt, but I cannot keep him near me. […] I hate ingratitude. I hate disloyalty. That is why I value a man like you. You were good to your old master in his trouble. […]” He speaks as if he, personally, hadn’t caused the trouble; as if Wolsey’s fall were caused by a thunderbolt.

Related Characters: King Henry VIII (speaker), Stephen Gardiner (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, Cardinal Wolsey , Anne Boleyn
Related Symbols: Animals
Page Number: 501-502
Explanation and Analysis:

“The queen will be coming to visit her daughter soon. If you would simply greet her respectfully in the way you should greet your father’s wife—”

“—except she is his concubine—”

“—then your father would take you back to court, you would have everything you lack now, and the warmth and comfort of society. Listen to me, I intend this for your good. The queen does not expect your friendship, only an outward show. Bite your tongue and bob her a curtsy. It will be done in a heartbeat, and it will change everything. Make terms with her before her new child is born. If she has a son, she will have no reason afterward to conciliate you.”

“She is frightened of me,” Mary says, “and she will still be frightened, even if she has a son.”

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), Mary Tudor (speaker), King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn , Princess Elizabeth
Page Number: 516
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Chapter 2 Quotes

Henry stirs into life. “Do I retain you for what is easy? Jesus pity my simplicity, I have promoted you to a place in this kingdom that no one, no one of your breeding has ever held in the whole of the history of this realm.” He drops his voice. “Do you think it is for your personal beauty? The charm of your presence? I keep you, Master Cromwell, because you are as cunning as a bag of serpents. But do not be a viper in my bosom. You know my decision. Execute it.”

Related Characters: King Henry VIII (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn , Thomas More
Related Symbols: Animals
Page Number: 585
Explanation and Analysis: