The Hard, Cold Truth of the 16th Century

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory: “‘I am happy for the family,’ [Anne] said. ‘I hardly ever think of you.’” (Gregory 35). After Mary and King Henry make love for the first time, Anne is clearly jealous. Anne being the oldest, more experienced and most definitely more spoiled, she insults Mary instead of congratulating her for capturing the king’s interest. When you’re the mistress of the King of England, your family moves up in the ranks; gaining more land and the respect of the King so the Boleyns are pretty ecstatic about Mary and Henry’s affair. The problem I find in the situation, however, is how much the family actually cares about Mary and her well-being. Mary is in love with Henry, plain as day, but what if she wasn’t? What if Henry was raping her and enjoying it? The family only cares about rank and their social class level so they wouldn’t take a second look at Mary’s happiness. Contributing to the unfairness, even when it is pretty bad, is that Anne is the family’s little protégé, their favorite. Anne is cunning, witty, and clever; having learned it all while she lived in France. The family uses Anne as the gas that fuels a car. Anne tells Mary what to do, and how to do it. She coaxes her sister to play hard-to-get with the King. Anne gives Mary advice on how to act when he’s with the queen, Katherine. Anne is the one having the affair with Henry it seems, with all the maneuvering she’s doing. She doesn’t do it nicely, either. Anne is not the older sister you want; harsh, sharp and unemotional when discussing Mary’s problems. Anne is very selfish and is not afraid to show it.