Mary Boleyn/Lady Carey Character Analysis in Wolf Hall

Mary Boleyn is Anne Boleyn’s older sister. She was King Henry’s mistress before he began his relationship with Anne. Anne is jealous of Mary because Henry used to sleep with her, and Anne treats Mary poorly. While Anne comes across as being cruel and ambitious, Mary is softer and kinder—which is probably why she isn’t quite as successful in court. The first time Mary meets Thomas Cromwell, she flirts with him and indicates that she would like to marry him. However, Cromwell finds out later that she was pregnant with Henry’s bastard at the time and thinks that he narrowly escaped having to be a father to that child. Cromwell doesn’t hold this against her, and he and Mary remain friends. Mary is a widow and has illegitimate children with King Henry whom the king does not acknowledge as his own, claiming that they were fathered by her husband. She cares deeply about these children, and Cromwell understands her worries since he, too, is a responsible parent to his children. Mary is his primary source for court gossip. When Anne becomes pregnant with her first child, Henry once again turns to Mary for sex and she cannot refuse the king. She is stuck between her sister’s jealousy and the king’s demands, and Cromwell pities her lack of freedom and wishes he could help her. Mary represents the helpless position of many women in court who can’t refuse the sexual advances of powerful men, and Cromwell’s sympathy for her affirms his own kind nature. When Anne suffers a miscarriage toward the end of the novel, Mary is pregnant with a child she claims is William Stafford’s, but Anne suspects it is Henry’s child and throws Mary out of court. Some months later, Mary writes to Cromwell, saying she made her decision to marry Stafford in a hurry and asking Cromwell for money since she has no one else to ask. Cromwell thinks that he will arrange for Thomas Boleyn to send Mary money for all the unpleasantness he forced his daughter into these many years.

Mary Boleyn/Lady Carey Character Timeline in Wolf Hall

The timeline below shows where the character Mary Boleyn/Lady Carey appears in Wolf Hall. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Power, Ambition, and Deception Theme Icon

...mentions to Wolsey that the king is rumored to be sleeping with Boleyn’s older daughter, Mary Boleyn —not his younger daughter, Anne Boleyn, the one who is involved with Harry Percy. This... (full context)

...has made a duke. The cardinal asks Cromwell if Katherine knows about the king and Mary Boleyn , and Cromwell says she does. Wolsey says she is “a saint.” He also tells... (full context)

...on her. Cromwell wonders if this was when he was already sleeping with her sister Mary Boleyn , and Cavendish says it was. Cromwell wonders how the king’s every desire was thwarted... (full context)

In the autumn of 1528, Cromwell is in court on the cardinal’s business. Mary Boleyn runs to him, “her skirts lifted, showing a fine pair of green silk stockings.” She... (full context)

Cromwell is fascinated with all this information, and he even finds himself talking easily to Mary Boleyn about his own children. Mary says that she would like her next husband to be... (full context)

Children and Human Connection Theme Icon

...on dissolving his marriage with Katherine, so he sends Anne Boleyn out of London with Mary Boleyn . A rumor reaches Cromwell that Mary is pregnant, and he thinks he narrowly escaped... (full context)

...surrounded by women sitting on low stools who are pretending to sew, among whom is Mary Boleyn . There is also Mary Shelton, a Boleyn cousin who looks at Cromwell disapprovingly—he thinks... (full context)

...wants it, […] it is all taking a marvelous long while to come to pass!” Mary Boleyn says under her breath that Anne, too, is “not getting any younger.” Anne says that... (full context)

After Cromwell leaves the room, Mary Boleyn follows him out. She tells Cromwell that she and Mary Shelton can’t wait for him... (full context)

Mary Boleyn tells Cromwell how the king quarreled with Katherine during Christmas and came to Anne Boleyn... (full context)

Cromwell asks Mary Boleyn if the rumors that Anne Boleyn is pregnant are true, and she says that Anne... (full context)

Mary Boleyn accompanies Cromwell as he leaves, prompting Jane Rochford to say that she is “going to... (full context)

...her that is good. Cromwell asks how the king took this piece of news, and Mary Boleyn says he “walked out of the room.” George Boleyn says that Harry Percy “was persuaded... (full context)

...learned her tricks from her mother, who was a “great whore,” and from her sister Mary Boleyn , who was “trained in a brothel.” Cromwell calmly insists that no one “believe[s] that... (full context)

...Anne wants to swear on something. Later, when Cromwell is in the gardens, he meets Mary Boleyn , who says that Anne is finally sleeping with Henry. Henry and Anne swore on... (full context)

...take their vows at a chapel in Whitehall in a small ceremony, with no celebration. Mary Boleyn signals to Cromwell that Anne is pregnant, and Cromwell guesses that the king doesn’t know... (full context)

Cromwell goes to visit Anne Boleyn, who tells him she is tired of her sister Mary Boleyn and wants her gone. She suggests Cromwell’s nephew Richard, who has some Tudor blood, as... (full context)

...Henry receives them graciously. That evening, Cromwell tells Richard that Anne has suggested he marry Mary Boleyn , but that they would have to get the king’s approval. Richard asks if he... (full context)

...disapproving as he walks into Cromwell’s room. Cromwell asks Rafe not to tell Richard that Mary Boleyn had flirted with Cromwell once, since there’s nothing between them. Their household won’t become like... (full context)

...a particular situation. Henry adds that he has thought it over and doesn’t think that Mary Boleyn should marry Richard—“at least, not at this time.” Cromwell understands him perfectly, and he thinks... (full context)

Dogmatism vs. Open-Mindedness Theme Icon

...Rochford says she would like his friendship. She says she will give him information, since Mary Boleyn has been sent away because “Anne [Boleyn] is back on duty in the bedchamber.” (full context)

...king is “contemptuous.” Anne Boleyn’s belly has begun to show, and in the absence of Mary Boleyn , the king has started showering his attention on Mary Shelton. (full context)

...did it. Cromwell asks the gathered Boleyns why Anne is upset, and Weston says that Mary Boleyn is pregnant. Mary claims the child is William Stafford’s, and that she has married him.... (full context)

Jane Rochford follows Cromwell as he heads to Mary Boleyn ’s rooms. Mary is packing up her things. Jane Seymour comes in, bringing in an... (full context)

...leaves the room, slamming the door on her way out, and Jane Seymour quietly tells Mary Boleyn to let her go and forget her. When Mary leaves the room to collect a... (full context)

At the end of the year, Cromwell gets a letter from Mary Boleyn asking for money. She says she was too hasty when she married and that “love... (full context)