Eliza Barton, “The Maid” Character Analysis in Wolf Hall

Barton, who is popularly known as “The Maid,” is a prophetess who becomes famous for claiming to speak to angels and the dead. She claims that King Henry will be struck by lightning and die young if he marries Anne Boleyn. Since her prophecies are being encouraged and popularized by Henry’s enemies, like Bishop Fisher, Cromwell brings the Maid to London where she is questioned by a delegation. After initially resisting the idea that her work is a hoax, she ultimately breaks down before the delegation and admits that her prophecies were untrue and also names all the powerful people who backed her up. The delegation makes her issue public apologies and also executes her for treason. The Maid’s case shows how people like her became pawns in the hands of powerful people who oppose the king, like Bishop Fisher and Exeter. While the Maid has to pay for her crimes with her life, the powerful people who backed her escape by simply issuing apologies. The Maid’s example also highlights the level of corruption in the Church, since so-called religious revelations were used as a means to gain power and money.

Eliza Barton, “The Maid” Character Timeline in Wolf Hall

The timeline below shows where the character Eliza Barton, “The Maid” appears in Wolf Hall. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Power, Ambition, and Deception Theme Icon

...next morning, the king’s council meets and Warham attends as well. Cromwell asks Warham about Eliza Barton, the Maid , a prophetess in his diocese who has said that King Henry will only reign... (full context)

Cromwell then reads up on all the information he has on Eliza Barton, the Maid , and he tells Rafe that the Maid has visions of the saints and can... (full context)

...their hands to touch the king. A bunch of Franciscan monks come by and bring the Maid with them. Henry asks her to approach and she tells him that he must burn... (full context)

Children and Human Connection Theme Icon

Anne Boleyn says she has heard that a book of the Maid ’s prophecies is being printed, and Cromwell says he will make sure that no one... (full context)

...be “a day of shame for the women of England.” Cromwell wants to know if the Maid has come to see More, and More says he sent her away since he thinks... (full context)

Meanwhile, the prophetess nun called the Maid has been brought to London and is being looked after by the women in Cromwell’s... (full context)

Later that night, Alice comes in to tell Cromwell that the Maid is close to her breaking point since she cries at night though she seems brave... (full context)

On Sunday, the Maid is tired and she “confesses that her visions are inventions.” She says she hasn’t spoken... (full context)

Cromwell has been working on rounding up the people who were close to the Maid . The king is hesitant to bring charges against Lord Exeter, Henry Courtenay, who was... (full context)

Dogmatism vs. Open-Mindedness Theme Icon

In November, the Maid and her principal supporters do public penance by standing “shackled and barefoot in a whipping... (full context)

...Anne Boleyn asks Cromwell to include More’s name next to Fisher’s in the bill against Eliza Barton, the Maid . Cromwell protests, saying More is innocent of this, but Anne says she wants to... (full context)

...be, since he believed that a “puppet show” was real. Fisher says many believed in the Maid , including Warham. Cromwell says that the Maid “threatened the king,” but Fisher says that... (full context)

When the bill against the Maid and her allies is brought before the House of Lords in February, Fisher’s name is... (full context)

...on their knees and beg the king to remove More’s name from the bill against the Maid . Audley says that if the bill is not passed, the king plans to come... (full context)

...the king to pardon him, asking him to consider that Fisher is “ill and infirm.” The Maid is going to be hanged. The king’s councilors beg him on their knees to remove... (full context)

...threaten them, but it has been of no use. It has been a year since the Maid was put to death, and the king no longer has any patience with those who... (full context)