The Mirror and the Light

It becomes increasingly clear during Cromwell’s imprisonment and interrogation sessions that, while there are many outlandish accusations made against him, the real reason he has been destroyed is that he has committed the ultimate transgression: He has risen to power and influence from humble origins, upsetting the social order that many still believe is handed down by God Himself. His closest advisor, Rafe Sadler, tells Cromwell that the king “is frightened of you, sir. You have outgrown him. You have gone beyond what any servant or subject should be” (703). The medieval worldview—that one is born into one’s station or estate by God’s will and that to aspire above one’s rank is sinful—still resonates for many. For those in power, there is self-interest in maintaining the status quo. Cromwell has run afoul of these norms. The Duke of Norfolk lodges what appears to be a petty complaint about Cromwell’s wardrobe: “It was above your rank and station, to dress as if you were an earl already” (705). The comment goes straight to the heart of Cromwell’s supposed crimes: to elevate himself to the level of a duke or an earl when he was but a blacksmith’s son. Gardiner, Cromwell’s other main antagonist, accuses him of maintaining “the household of a prince. Your livery is seen not only through London, but through England” (713). Cromwell’s example chafes against the aristocratic standard-bearers and gives Henry’s peasant subjects ideas above their own stations.

Cromwell himself is always a liminal figure, because he is both of humble origin and of regal significance; he is elevated by his association with the Catholic Cardinal Wolsey and by his service to the newly Protestant king; he is both an Englishman, born and bred, and a foreigner, learning life skills and languages throughout the continent. He is always between worlds and allegiances.

His fate is also linked to women. Furthering his outsider status, he is a liminal figure who moves between the halls of male power and the households of female intrigue. In Part 5, he and Anne of Cleves are bound together in the failure of her marriage. Here, Cromwell remembers the other Anne, Anne Boleyn, to whom Cromwell was also bound. He was instrumental in providing Henry an avenue by which he could divest himself of Katherine of Aragon in favor of the young maid. When he harbors hope about the king’s decision regarding his fate, Cromwell thinks of Henry’s second wife: “Anne Boleyn thought till her last moment that he would change his mind. She died incredulous” (716). Cromwell harbors such hopes even as he knows they are almost certainly futile. It is tragically ironic that Cromwell’s fate will echo that of Anne’s. The morning of his execution, his servant Christophe hands him “a holy medal” that he claims belonged to his mother: “Sir, take it back to her. She is waiting for it” (749). While Cromwell is reluctant, he allows the boy to hang the medal about his neck. He is once more inextricably entwined at the moment of his death to the sufferings and fates of women.

Cromwell is also painfully aware that his story is no longer his own: “They are rewriting my life, he thinks. They represent that all my obedience has been outward obedience, and all these years in secret I have been creeping closer to Henry’s enemies” (717). This reference is a meta-fictional aside: the story of Cromwell’s life has been rewritten over the course of three novels by Mantel. These novels have worked to vindicate Cromwell and restore his reputation. The meta-fictional allusion is later made even more explicit, after Cromwell knows what fate he will meet after his long journey through life: “But when you get to your destination the doorkeeper knows you. [...] Inside there is a fire and a flask of wine, there is a candle and beside the candle your book. You pick it up and find your place is marked. You sit down by the fire, open it, and begin your story” (746). The character (the historical figure) and the reader have embarked upon the same story together. All will meet the same end, if not by the same means.

In a short author’s note, Mantel briefly recounts the fate of some of the actual historical figures who populate the book: King Henry will live for only another seven years, increasingly ill and disabled; Katherine Howard is beheaded, like Anne Boleyn, for suspected infidelity; Cromwell’s son Gregory lives quietly and dies relatively young, while his nephew Richard becomes quite wealthy. Richard’s great-grandson, Oliver Cromwell, will rise to power after deposing a king during the English Civil War in the 17th century; it would be the only time England was ruled without a monarch. The traitor Wriothesley has a checkered career in Henry’s court then serves briefly under Edward; Wriothesley dies in 1550. Norfolk eventually falls afoul of the king, but he is reprieved from execution by the king’s sudden death; he dies of natural causes at the age of eighty. Henry’s daughter, born of Anne Boleyn, becomes Queen Elizabeth I, one of the most powerful monarchs in all of English history. She rules for 45 years, overseeing the establishment of an empire that spans the globe and fostering the spread of English literature, arts, and culture—all while never taking a husband.