Friday, November 14, 2008

My biography is on Anne Boleyn. Although our unit this quarter is based on ethical choices, her life seems to be without any of those. She was mistress of the king of England, Henry the eighth. Then she forced him to divorce his first wife (as well as sister in law) Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was old, so some might say it was understandable that she was divorced. Catherine and Henry hadn't produced a male heir, therefore no future king of England. Without an heir, the throne would go to whomever his daughter, Mary, married. One can assume that this was not Henry's favorite idea. So, Henry fnd Anne, who was sister to his other mistress Mary Boleyn. Anne was never beautiful, but she was clever and charming, which was what allured men to her.

"Anne’s charm lay not so much in her physical appearance as in her vivacious personality, her gracefulness, her quick wit and other accomplishments. She was petite in stature, and had an appealing fragility about her...she shone at singing, making music, dancing and conversation...Not surprisingly, the young men of the court swarmed around her."

Anne learned everything about charm and grace from her time spent in the french courts as a child and teenager. If it hadn't been for the french courts, Anne Boleyn might have never become queen. But then, she might have never died. So who can tell if the French harmed or hindered her? It leaves me thinking.

2 comments:

Ms. Froehlich said...

Please cite using signal phrases and proper MLA format (last name of author page number).

Ted M. said...

Why do you say that her life had no ethical choices in it? I am interested in learning more about her because we only touched on her importance in Euro. I think it could be argued that Henry divorcing Catherine was an ethical thing to do, because althought it is divorce, it was with a marriage to his sister-in-law. I think this book will be very interesting.