Wolf Hall

by

Hilary Mantel

Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon Character Analysis

Suffolk is Henry’s brother-in-law and a member of the king’s council. He is married to Henry’s sister, who used to be the Queen of France. Like Norfolk, Suffolk dislikes Wolsey for wielding a huge influence over Henry, and he is very glad to announce to Wolsey that Henry has dismissed him as Lord Chancellor. However, he is unhappy at Anne Boleyn’s rise to power because his wife, who used to be a queen, is now expected to wait on Anne. Because of this, Suffolk refuses to travel with the court to Calais. Cromwell tells him that Anne is inclined to hold grudges and advises him not to anger her. Cromwell says that Suffolk’s wife might be excused from the trip if she pleads an illness, but that Suffolk himself should go, which shows that Cromwell doesn’t think that even the king’s sister and brother-in-law will be spared Anne Boleyn’s revenge if they cross her.

Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon Quotes in Wolf Hall

The Wolf Hall quotes below are all either spoken by Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon or refer to Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon. 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 1 Quotes

This is an indecent spectacle: the man who has ruled England, reduced. They have brought out […] the scarlet silk in which he braves the summer heat of London, the crimson brocades that keep his blood warm when snow falls on Westminster and whisks in sleety eddies over the Thames. […] There have been days when, swaggering out, he would say, “Right, Master Cromwell, price me by the yard!”

[…] So day by day, at his request and to amuse him, he would put a value on his master. Now the king has sent an army of clerks to do it. But he would like to take away their pens by force and write across their inventories: Thomas Wolsey is a man beyond price.

Related Characters: Cardinal Wolsey (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII, Duke of Norfolk/Thomas Howard, Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon
Related Symbols: Clothes
Page Number: 46
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Chapter 2 Quotes

“I wonder,” Wolsey says, “would you have patience with our sovereign lord? When it is midnight and he is up drinking and giggling with Brandon, or singing, and the day’s papers not yet signed, and when you press him he says, I’m for my bed now, we’re hunting tomorrow…If your chance comes to serve, you will have to take him as he is, a pleasure-loving prince. And he will have to take you as you are, which is rather like one of those square-shaped fighting dogs that low men tow about on ropes. Not that you are without a fitful charm, Tom.”

Related Characters: Cardinal Wolsey (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII, Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon
Related Symbols: Animals
Page Number: 79
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Wolf Hall LitChart as a printable PDF.
Wolf Hall PDF

Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon Quotes in Wolf Hall

The Wolf Hall quotes below are all either spoken by Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon or refer to Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon. 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 1 Quotes

This is an indecent spectacle: the man who has ruled England, reduced. They have brought out […] the scarlet silk in which he braves the summer heat of London, the crimson brocades that keep his blood warm when snow falls on Westminster and whisks in sleety eddies over the Thames. […] There have been days when, swaggering out, he would say, “Right, Master Cromwell, price me by the yard!”

[…] So day by day, at his request and to amuse him, he would put a value on his master. Now the king has sent an army of clerks to do it. But he would like to take away their pens by force and write across their inventories: Thomas Wolsey is a man beyond price.

Related Characters: Cardinal Wolsey (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII, Duke of Norfolk/Thomas Howard, Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon
Related Symbols: Clothes
Page Number: 46
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Chapter 2 Quotes

“I wonder,” Wolsey says, “would you have patience with our sovereign lord? When it is midnight and he is up drinking and giggling with Brandon, or singing, and the day’s papers not yet signed, and when you press him he says, I’m for my bed now, we’re hunting tomorrow…If your chance comes to serve, you will have to take him as he is, a pleasure-loving prince. And he will have to take you as you are, which is rather like one of those square-shaped fighting dogs that low men tow about on ropes. Not that you are without a fitful charm, Tom.”

Related Characters: Cardinal Wolsey (speaker), Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII, Duke of Suffolk/Charles Brandon
Related Symbols: Animals
Page Number: 79
Explanation and Analysis: