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Seminararbeit
Geschichte / Historik

Albert-Schweitzer-Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium

2011, Frau Giegel

Marc D. ©
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Anne Boleyn's life and conflicts
Historical background and the presentation in the film "the other Boleyn girl"

What caused her downfall?


Englisch LK Frau Giegel

Albert-Schweitzer-Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium


Gliederung:

1.0      Introduction

2.0      Anne's life

2.1      Youth and education

2.2      At the court

2.3      Downfall and Execution

3.0      Film "The other Boleyn Girl"

3.1      Plot

3.2      Analysis

3.3      Special Feature: The birth order

3.4      Cast and crew

3.5      Settings: Location and release

3.6      Comparison grid

3.7      Scene analysis

3.8.     My personal review

4.0      Relationships

4.1.1   Anne and Mary: In the film

4.1.2   Anne and Mary: In reality

4.2.1   Anne and Henry: In the film

4.2.2   Anne and Henry: In reality

5.0      Conclusion of Anne's conflict: What caused her downfall?

Quellenverzeichnisse


1.0 Introduction:

 Once there was a time between 1499 and 1507, somewhere in England , a girl was born. This girl was thought to be so insignificant and small, that nobody bothered to record the date, place or details of her birth. It was not until she was twelve that something at all was recorded about her. However, this girl was named Anne Boleyn, and even though she started small and powerless and destitute, she became one of the greatest influences on King Henry VIII.

Anne Boleyn was one of the first non-royal women to become Queen of England, which caused quite a turmoil in those times. She was also the mother of Elizabeth I, one of the greatest monarchs in the history of England and of the world itself

In my opinion history is written by winners. Like any visionary Anne Boleyn lived on the success - as long she was successful. But also like all visionaries, she moved her life on thin ice. What she wanted to achieve and achieved, was not backed up by experience or role models. So far, there were always a risk, and ultimately she failed.

Of course after her failure, her opponents tried to reinterpret her successes as the result of devilish machinations. In the end she was not the winner. Instead, she became the devilish witch who enchanted the king to disunite the English church.

In the following I am going to consider Anne's life, always trying to understand why such a brilliant and well educated woman had to die so early. So the question I am asking here is,what caused her downfall? For that I will regard her life and the different relationships she had.

So, I decided to do my paper on Anne Boleyn, because for me, she was an intelligent woman who "became one of the principal figures in a hideous melodrama, a corrupt and involute series of intrigues,in which the mores of her contemporaries are now difficult to assess"[1]. It was not really her fault, that she, or possibly Henry VIII could not produce a male heir.

I think Anne was neither a saint nor a devil,but she was a human being like everyone else with virtues and faults. That's probably why I admire her so much and tend to dislike critics who usually only see her faults. She was a modern woman in her own time and I bet if she lived in the 21st century she would have fit right in.

2.0 Anne's Biography:

2.1 Youth and Education:


The tradition says, that Anne Boleyn was born in the Henver castle in the Weald of Kent[2].

Nevertheless most historians believe that Anne was born at the Blickling residence, because it was their location around 1500. Assuming, that Anne was born around 1500, the historians could be right with their presumption, but if you start with a birth date around 1507, one would assume Henver Castle may well be the birthplace[3].

Anne Boleyn was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn and Lady Elizabeth Howard and Anne was the maternal niece of the Duke of Norfolk.

Anne's education began very early. Just with a few years Anne and her siblings had to learn what it means how to behave in the society. Their daily schedule was very well structured, so that there was not many time to play or doing nothing.

Their daily practice includes learning several languages, for instance French, Italian and Latin, practicing dancing and playing instruments. "Music was the most important accomplishment, comprising the practice of lute, harp, ciol and virginals"[4].

It was very important to the parents that Anne got a good education, so that she will get a good and hopefully noble husband. And Anne did well in her education. Her French was fluent at just a very early age.

When Henry VIII's younger sister Mary Tudor got married to king Louis XII of France, Anne was allowed to accompany the young princess as a lady-in-waiting. The great change, made in October 1514, was a big step for her education.

Meanwhile her sister Mary Boleyn, who was close to her sister in age, was educated at the Court of the Hapsburg Archduchess Margaret in Brussels. After a while Mary is sent to the french court, as well, so that both sisters became ladies-in-waiting. The sisters were taught impeccable manners and elegance, but music, poetry and dance, as well[5].

During her early years in France Anne Boleyn acquired elegance and the sophistication of the French court. She also acquired her taste for beautiful and elegant clothes. Anne Boleyn returned to England after 7 years, which gave her a grand advantage in front of all the English ladies-in-waiting and mistresses. There she could impress with her new witty, intelligent and ambitious behavior.


2.2At Henry VIII's court (1522-1533):


Around 1524 or 1525, she rejoined King Henry’s court. In 1526, Anne was officially desired by King Henry VIII[6]. Anne Boleyn was said to look very ordinary, pale, with black hair and black eyes[7]. The Venetian ambassador describing her pronounced[8] “not one of the handsomest women in the world”. But those that were loyal to her spoke of her in a different way.

To others she was known to be very attractive with beautiful eyes, a long neck, and dark silky hair[9]. King Henry was an experienced seducer and visited Anne often, but Anne was cool and evasive and showed no interest at all. So, King Henry VIII began trying to get rid ohis wife and marry Anne Boleyn.

Henry VIII told Cardinal Wolsey that his marriage to Queen Catherine was an offense to God, since it was his dead brother’s wife. Cardinal Wolsey had to annul the marriage between King Henry and Queen Catherine. However, Wolsey failed, because the Pope claimed that one Pope could not change what another Pope had declared.

Because the Pope would not annul Henry VIII’s marriage to Queen Catherine,he declared himself head of the Church of England and selected Thomas Cranmer as the Archbishop of Canterbury. Naturally, Cranmer declared the marriage of Queen Catherine and King Henry fallacious and he was able to marry Anne Boleyn[10].

Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII’s marriage was set in a disclosed place. There is no documentation of the location, date or witnesses. However, it is handed that the wedding of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn took place on January 25, 1533.

 It needed to be as discreet as possible because once Anne Boleyn recognized that the King’s intentions were serious, she slept with him and became pregnant close to the end of the first week of December in 1532[11]. If people would discover that their child had been conceived before marriage, they would declare the child as a bastard.

Her Coronation was on Thursday, May 29, 1533. People came, but not to cheer, just to stare at her. She was crowned on Sunday, June 1, 1533 at eight o’clock in the morning. Henry VIII was not present during her coronation[12]


2.3Downfall and execution:


Anne Boleyn had problems keeping this title, as she had many problems trying to bear a male heir for King Henry VIII. Their daughter, Elizabeth, was born in September 7, 1533 of that year. Henry VIII accepted the birth of Elizabeth as a promise of things to come. After having Elizabeth, though, Anne Boleyn had some miscarriages and the long-awaited son was lost on January 23, 1536[13].

King Henry VIII got tired of Anne Boleyn and began to think she could not give him the heir he needed. With the help of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII created a plot to get rid of his wife[14] Anne got accused by commiting adultery with her brother, three gentlemen of the privy chamber, and a musician of the court and of conspiring with these men against the king’s life[15]

Anne Boleyn was held in the Tower of London on May 2, 1536[16]. On 14 May, Cranmer declared Anne's marriage to Henry dissolved[17]. On May 17, the musician was hanged and the other four beheaded[18] .Two days later, Anne was also beheaded. She was beheaded not by a clumsy axe, but by a skilled man, brought over from France[19].

As she was brought to the square, she made a speech to the crowd watching:


"Good Christian people, I am come hither to

die, for according to the law, and by the

law I am judged to die, and therefore I will

speak nothing against it. I am come hither

to accuse no man, nor to speak anything

die, but I pray God save the king and send

him long to reign over you, for a gentler

nor a more merciful prince was there never:

and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and

sovereign lord. And if any person will

meddle of my cause, I require them to judge

the best. And thus I take my leave of the

world and of you all, and I heartily desire

you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy

on me, to God I commend my soul[20].  Anne Boleyn in the Tower by Edouard

     Cibot (1799 - 1877)


3.0 Film:

3.1 Plot:

The romantic-drama movie "the other Boleyn Girl" portrays the famous era in England history during the reign of Henry VIII. The King desperately tries to get a male heir and not being terrified from divorce or execution, he plays with several lives to fulfill his wishes. At the same time there are the two Boleyn sisters, who reveals for the favor of the king.

But let's start at the beginning. Henry VIII, King of England has a problem: Despite his marriage to Catherine of Aragon he has no successor in sight, so the survival of the monarchy is in danger. This circumstance makes the power-conscious family Boleyn use their two daughters Anne and Mary to fight from now on to win the favor of the king as mistress and possible next queen.

And it is especially the uncle of the two sisters, the Duke of Norfolk, who wants to use the amorous plight of the monarch to help secure the rise of the family.

First there is the humble Mary, who revived the King's heart and even produces a male royal bastard but the cunning Anne returns from France where she was in exil and with her refreshingly tangy personality she succeeds in winning the king's heart.

Spurred by her addictive uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, Anne meanders herself calculating and seemingly unstoppable through the mediocrity of her actual life to the top, to power, the influence on the king, passing moral concerns and her sister, who is deeply in love with Henry VIII and expecting his child, as well.

But beeing at the top has its consequences. Anne is forced to fight against everyone to defend her position, but in the end this decision proves to be fatal:

Since she "only" can produce a daughter she falls from grace. The king and his court try to find a way to get rid of her and ultimately they accuse her of adultery. Anne cannot defend herself, so she gets executed by her own husband. Meanwhile Mary moves to the countryside again to live a happy life with her love Stafford.


3.2 Analysis:


In the following I will discuss some aspects in more detail, but not all, because most things as the plot or the individual relationships already occurred in the other texts.

As the title of a film is always found at the beginning, I'll start with the consideration of it. The most special part of the title is that its meaning changes during the film.

The term the 'other' Boleyn girl is very vague and so the viewer has a 50:50 chance to guess who of the Boleyn sisters is meant by this term. In one of the first scenes, Mary's wedding, the audience gets to know who is the 'other' of the sisters and it is Anne, because she says to her sister shortly before the ceremony that Mary is younger than her and more beautiful than Anne, as well.

Moreover, Mary is married before her sister. That leads Anne to the conclusion that she is just the 'other' Boleyn Girl.

But during the film the owner of this term changes because soon after Mary got pregnant and Anne returned from France, the king has directed his attention to Anne. So Mary is sent away and becomes the 'other' Boleyn girl.

But regarding the whole film it is obvious, that mainly Mary is meant by this description.

That matches with the author's opinion towards the sisters. For Gregory it is too bad that most people have forgotten Mary Boleyn, just because she was pushed away through the other Boleyn girl.That was the reason why she wrote the novel from Mary's angle, as well[21].Nevertheless the film makers considered Natalie Portman and that means Anne as the first leading actress.

Now I am going to describe the opening credits and how it is relevant for the whole.

The film starts with a little race of the siblings when they were young.

At the beginning Mary is first and Anne second, followed by their brother George.

Then with a ploy that Anne cannot run so fast, Mary slowed her pace and Anne overtakes her sister and becomes first in the race. This little incident perfectly shows the history of the sisters' power relations. First Mary is the one who gets all the attention of Henry VIII, but that changes during the film when Anne appears at court and attracts all the attention.

If you look at the two aspects again, one can easily see that it's actually all about Henry.

If he feels attracted to Mary, Anne is the 'other' Boleyn girl and after Anne appears again in his life, Mary takes over this term.

That leads me to the film's theme. The main theme in the film is definitely

power corruption. Both, King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn have such a drive for power that it becomes destructive for them in the end. The king would do anything, even murder, for getting a male heir and his wife Anne is not better. She even ruins the life of her siblings just to get what she wants. It is amazing enough that she really tries to become Queen of England and achieves it, as well.

In a way both ultimately failed because Anne was executed for her not customizable lust for power and crazy ways and the king failed in producing a male heir. So actually he produced one and Jane Seymour gave birth to him in the end, but it was not the long-awaited successor. This part was already reserved for little Elizabeth, Anne's daughter.

Blessed with all the good qualities of her family she ruled England to a whole new era and becomes the most important Queen of England in the entire history.


3.3 Special Feature: The birth order of the siblings:

The most significant aspect of the comparison between the reality and the film would definitely be the order of birth. We can never really be sure about the real birth order, but through the years a number of different sources were found from which we can define the approximate dates of birth of the sisters.

It is handed, that Anne Boleyn had to be nearly thirty when she was executed in 1536 which would support the 1507 date, and when her body was exhumed in the Victorian period the archaeologists then thought she had been between twenty five and thirty at the time of her death[25], which would suggest a birth date of 1511. So we have a range of possible birth dates for Anne, in the eleven years from 1500 to 1511.

We have no date of birth for Mary Boleyn at all, but since she was married in 1520, she would have been sexually mature at that age, so she could not have been born after 1508[26]. So the specific birth dates of the siblings are unknown, as is the order of their births. We only know that all three Boleyn siblings were close in age[27].


Cast and Crew:

One of the leading role, Anne Boleyn, is played by Natalie Portman who was attracted to the role describing Anne as „strong yet she can be vulnerable and she's ambitious and calculating and will step on people but also feels remorse for it“[28].One month before filming began, Portman started taking daily classes to master the English accent under dialect coach Jill McCulloch.

Ironically, Anne spoke with a French accent because she was raised in France. Anne's sister Mary Boleyn is the other leading role, played by Scarlett Johansson. For the young actress the film was a big hurdle, because for her it is „such a melodramatic tale“[29]. The third leading role is taken by Eric Bana, who plays Henry VIII of England. For Bana this role was a great offer, because he describes the character of Henry as „a man who was somewhat juvenile, and driven by passion and greed“, and that he interpreted the character as „this man who was involved in an incredibly intricate, complicated situation, largely through his own doing“[30]


Other characters[31]:

Jim Sturgess as George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford

Kristin Scott Thomas as Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire and Ormond

Mark Rylance as Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

David Morrissey as Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk

Benedict Cumberbatch as William Carey

Oliver Coleman as Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland

Ana Torrent as Katherine of Aragon

Eddie Redmayne as William Stafford

Juno Temple as Jane Parker

Iain Mitchell as Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex

Corinne Galloway as Jane Seymour

Bill Wallis as Archbishop Cranmer


Crew:

The film "The other Boleyn Girl" was directed by newcomer Justin Chadwick and the screenplay was adapted by Peter Morgan from the 2001 bestselling-novel "The other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. Historical circumstances - by Gregory told in detail over 600 pages - can be reduced by screenwriter Peter Morgan on several obvious scenes.


3.5 Settings:

Most of the shooting took place in Kent, England, although the real Hever Castle was not used, which was the original household of the Boleyns from 1505-1539.For the Tower of London the Baron's Hall at Penshurst Place and the Knole House in Sevenoaks were used in some scenes. The home of the Boleyns was represented by Great Chalfield Manor in Wiltshire, and other scenes were filmed at locations in Derbyshire, including Cave Dale, Haddon Hall, Dovedale and North Lees Hall near Hathersage[33].

The world premiere was at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival held on February 7-17, 2008, but the film was released in theaters on February 29, 2008.

The combined worldwide gross of the film was $75,598,644 more than double the film's $35 million budget[34].


3.6 Comparison grid:


The film

The reality

-Historical fiction

-Reality

-Emotional

-Neutral and objective

"loose, airy fantasy-novel mentality "

Serious historical events

Anne is the older sister

The birth order is not proven

Characters and relationships are decorated and filled

Real behavior and characteristics of the characters are just assumable

Incest relationship with George Boleyn

Inappropriate relationships with others, too

The spending time of the sisters in France is not mentioned

The time in France was very important for the education of the sisters

 William Carey just disappears

William Carey dies of the sweat fiver

Mary is presented as a shy country girl

Mary is a lively girl

Mary had just an affair with the king

Mary had several affairs with some kings[35]

Anne: not interested in religion

Supporter of the religious reforms

Anne's accusations seem to be right

It is proven hat they were wrong

Kind of "soap opera"

Real history

3.7 Scene analysis of the banquet scene:


In the banquet scene from "The other Boleyn girl" the audience is introduced into the English court. To begin, I am going to present the plot of the scene.

It is the first evening at court, so Anne and her siblings are going to the court's banquet.

First Mary is nervous and unconfident but talking to her friend Stafford helps her to relax. Anne is still mad at her sister and family for deciding Mary to be the king's new mistress. It would not be Anne, if she would sulk for a long time. After a while, she has already chosen someone new to bewitch and enchant.

So she tries to find a way back to be admired and for the admirer she picks no one else than the already engaged Henry Percy. They both flirt with each other. Meanwhile she is dancing with her brother, who has his own little problems. Jane Parker, a sneaky, insane and very loyal lady-in-waiting of Katharina of Aragon, has her eye on him. The problem is that he feels exactly the opposite.

Mary becomes pale and seems to be depressed. Moreover, Anne has observed the scene. Being hurt and mad by the behavior of the king and her sister she suddenly has no more desire to flirt with Henry Percy.

In the banquet scene you can group the different persons. First, there are Mary and Stafford, who are talking to each other. Then there are Anne and her brother where one must add Henry Percy, flirting with Anne, and George observing Jane Parker.

Of course you cannot forget the majesty, the king, but he is presented as a sole ruler without anyone around him, but guardianship.

Less important and without text, you can notice Sir Thomas Boleyn, the father of the siblings, the Duke of Norfolk, their uncle and of course Mary's husband, William Carey.

Now I am going to present the scene's function. One the one hand there is the obvious aim of introducing the court's world to the audience but the actual intention of this scene is definitely to show all the different relationships.

This scene includes many prospects, as well, so that the audience can imagine for themselves what will further happen. First, there are Mary and Stafford. They will marry later in the film and move to the countryside again. Then there are Anne and Henry Percy. They will marry, as well, but in contrast to her sister's marriage this one will be annulled by Anne's father and Anne gets exiled for that.

As you can imagine, this scene is followed by the first night of Mary and Henry. Furthermore the balance of power will change soon, when Henry loses interest in Mary and turns himself to the 'other' Boleyn Girl, Anne.

Now I am going to present the cinematography of the scene. It starts with a close up of Mary Boleyn, whose face shows a curious expression and glides into a tracking movement which changes into a medium shot, because Mary walks deeper into the room and finally disappears in the crowd. The camera angle changes into a high angle camera to give the audience an impression of the whole banquet.

Simultaneously it still tracks Mary. Then there is a close up of Sir Thomas Boleyn, because Mary meets him during her way through the crowd. She implies a bow and goes out of the shot, leaving a desperate Thomas in the picture.

Turning into a medium shot, because Mary paused, the camera reverse-angel shot shows what Mary sees, and that are her siblings who talk to each other. Then there is a fast change of medium shots between Anne and George and Jane Parker, The siblings are talking about her, so the shot shows her as well, to give the audience an impression of her.

Talking about Anne and her flirting with Henry Percy the camera tracks Anne and shows close-ups of her smiling and Henry's fascinated face.

The scene gets interrupted by a knock which announces the king's entry. It starts with a long shot, which changes into a medium, because the king walks towards the camera. Between the shot a close up of Anne's bewildered face is shown. Then the laughing Mary and her friend Stafford are shown in a close up.

The laughing stops right away, when Mary discovers the king. After telling her the word "tonight" he walks away again and Mary's scared face is shown in a extreme close up. The camera changes again to show the audience Anne's reaction of this act. She seems composed, but with her behavior and her body language, which is shown in the medium shot, the audience gets to know that she is totally upset inwardly and leaves the stage.

Then it changes to a close up of Mary's husband and her uncle. Both of them react completely differently. The Duke is proud that his plan starts to work and smiles but William Carey drinks the rest of his wine with one gulp and seems to be very desperate.

Of course, there is no colloquial language. However there can be found some remarkable ancient terms like “Do your bidding”, which was quiet normal to say in those days.

To sum up, you can say that I have chosen this scene because I think that it is a good scene to get a clear overview of all the different relationships.


3.8 My own review:


As far as I can see, the makers of the film did very well by adapting the novel written by Philippa Gregory. So, one can say that it is not their fault that the novel is more like a romantic drama, which consists mostly of sexual and emotional relationships. Every relationship goes through ups and downs and the entire movie consists of them.

It presents how different relationships are established to each other and stand in the way of another. For me, the several relationships were implemented well and you could follow the course of the individual relationships very easily.

What I dislike about the film is, that people who have no foreknowledge can not understand the film right away. There are too many names or incidents which stay unexplained. For example, the missing introducing of Stafford and the lack of explaining the family's rejection towards him. Or the fate of Mary's husband. I know it because I read the novel but most of the viewers can only guess that he died.

All in all, one can say that the film is actually made very well because we still have to remember that this is fiction and made to be entertaining and keep the readers interest.

As far as I can see one of the things that is most enjoyable about historical fiction is learning about characters and events we think we know and getting a completely different angle. Novelists have always had artistic license and should be allowed to interpret things in ways that entertain. If you want straight facts you shouldn't expect to get it from a work of fiction like this novel and the resulting film.That is what I learned through the work with the film and the novel.

Having said that, Gregory knows her history and I for one trust her interpretations. It's also her right as a novelist to either stick rigidly to known facts or play with it as much as she likes. So I cannot criticize that the facts are actually totally different. I just can compare them. Peter Morgan, for his part, did his job very well by adapting the novel, because he neither changed the weight of the informations Gregory wanted to give her audience nor changed the period of the novel.

To sum up, I can tell you that the film has succeeded really well and has remained the spirit of Gregory's novel. It is and remains a historical fiction so we have to look at it that way.


4.0 Relationships:

4.1 Anne and Mary:

4.1.1 in the film:

Like we already concluded, the whole film is made on a very emotional level and the relationships of the different characters are definitely in the center of the film.

Especially Mary's and Anne's. In the following I'm going to describe and analyze the totally different characters. On the one hand you can say, that there are characteristics, which do not change in the whole film, but on the other hand particularly Anne's behavior towards her sister changes from acceptance to jealousy, from love to hate.

Of course, Mary is not so naive so that she does not customize her behavior but in the end you can notice that Mary still loves her sister and never stopped it.

But let's start at the beginning. Mary's wedding with William Carey is the first incident which caused a breach in the relationship. For that you have to know, that in the film the birth order is arranged like this: George is the oldest, then comes Anne as the oldest sister and Mary was the last of the three surviving Boleyn children.

For those days, she had all the properties a good and honest wife had to have.

With her open-minded and naive ways, it is obvious that Mary loves Anne more than Anne loves her sister. Anne is always driven by jealousy because Mary is definitely the prettier one of them.

The relationship gets another little break when Mary becomes Henry's mistress after Anne tried so hard to get his attention. Like the incident with Mary's marriage, it is so humiliating for Anne. Being at the Court just as 'the other Boleyn Girl', is something which Anne can not accept. She focusses on other things and without the knowledge of her family she marries Henry Percy.

Doing an inappropriate act like this, takes consequences with it. Anne is sent to France because her sister Mary betrayed her by telling their father about the marriage. Not because she wanted to be mean but more for trying to rescue the life and reputation of her beloved sister.

The whole power relations changes in the middle of the film, where Mary gets pregnant and Anne's exile in France ends, so that she could come back to court to entertain the king and always remembering him of Mary. From that moment everything changes for Anne. With her new education she knows, how to act.


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