February Prompt -- A Classics Challenge

This month's prompt for A Classics Challenge (hosted by November's Autumn... beautiful name!) is on character. I am a little disappointed that I am not reading a classic I am more involved in, because character is the most important aspect of a book for me. However, maybe it will help me appreciate the book I am reading more if I focus in on the characters.

I am reading Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Lately I have become very interested in Henry and his assorted spouses, fueled initially by Phillippa Gregory novels and enriched further by Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (which you -- all of you -- should read immediately if you haven't). As I haven't read any Shakespeare histories before and I wanted to read a play for Shakespeare Reading Month and another classics challenge, I thought this was the perfect choice. However, I have been slowly creeping through it, and am still not extremely involved with the characters.

However, one thing that is interesting about these characters is that they take on different personas and attributes as they are interpreted through the minds of different authors. While I am not very deep into Henry VIII yet, my perceptions of the characters are colored by my experiences with them in other books. One thing I have noticed that differs in Shakespeare's treatment of the characters is that Anne Boleyn (called Anne Bullen in the play), who normally is the dominant woman, takes a back seat to Catherine of Aragon, Princess of Wales and Queen of England. Catherine is given much more stage time and much more character.

So to get into the actual prompts...

Level 1
What phrases has the author used to introduce this character? What are your first impressions of them? Find a portrait or photograph that closely embodies how you imagine them. 


I am far too lazy to look up actual phrases used by Shakespeare to describe Catherine (a full week of school will do that to anyone), but my first impression of her in this particular play is that she is strong, despite the fact that she is being beaten down by her husband's rejection and the varying opinions of her people. There is a scene where she begs Henry to consider her, but it doesn't strike me as weak -- rather than begging, it seems as if she is taking him to task for not honoring her as he should. 

I tried to give credit for this source and my computer went kamikaze on me and I lost the website. So, be aware that I myself did not create this image, but some exceptionally talented person.

Although Catherine is supposed to be large by the time these events take place, and although I doubt she is really that pretty at that point in her life, I love this painting, and it is how I picture her. 

Level 2
How has the character changed? Has your opinion of them altered? Are there aspects of their character you aspire to? or hope never to be? What are their strengths and faults? Do you find them believable? If not, how could they have been molded so? Would you want to meet them?

Well, in this retelling in particular, I think Catherine is stronger. While she is a character that I have respected throughout all the stories about her, I think in Shakespeare's version she is more dignified. I would love to meet her.

Level 3
Try writing a short (four sentences +) note or letter as the character, addressed to you, another character, the author, anyone.

So, because I was intrigued by the scene when she begs Henry to consider her, I am going to write a note from her to Henry. I am worried I'll be a little cheesy, so bear with me. 

Dearest Henry,

It pains me that you are pursuing this errant course, and I cannot imagine why you have chosen it. There have been other women before, but they have never threatened our marriage. And in threatening  marriage between the two of us, the most visible couple in our world, you are threatening marriage for all of England. You are showing the gentlemen of England that if they find someone prettier or richer or in any other way better than they perceive their wives to be, they have license to cast her off, with no thought of decency, commitment, or persistence. And aside from the wider issues at stake, I am surprised that the years of our marriage mean so little to you. I have produced a son before -- it is no judgment upon us that he did not live. Children die frequently, and heartbreaking as it is, there is no one to blame. We can produce an heir together. Keep your self-respect and mine intact. Do not do this.

Queen Catherine