Cromwell notices that Anne Boleyn is anxious and nervous, and that Henry seems to be irritated by her. Previously, she would caress him during meetings, but now, he brushes her hands away, which symbolizing the fraying connection between them. When Cromwell tries to explain that they do not yet have a legal cause to convict Thomas More of treason, Henry turns on him angrily, demonstrating his tendency to swing from affection to rage. When Henry went to Cromwell’s house to see him when he was sick, Cromwell almost believed that they were friends, but now, he is once again reminded that his only role is to please the king by carrying out his orders without questions or objections. Cromwell is only valuable to Henry because he is ”cunning as a bag of serpents,” implying that Henry wants nothing to do with Cromwell the
person, who might have opinions that differ from Henry’s; it’s his harsh animal nature that Henry really values.