So what led to the unethical choices of Anne Boleyn? As I said before, she was not a great beauty. "It was the fashion for women to use lotions to lighten their hair and skin" (Denny 18)
And, as one may or may not know Anne was considered "olivestra" or sallow. Her wit was and still is considered what made her alluring to the King, Henry the eighth.
At the time, marriages were very important to the parents. The men's family would receive dowry's and the women's family would often go up in rank if their daughter was married to someone of high birth. This is exactly what Anne's parents wanted. Mary, during her time as the King's mistress, had been married off to William Carey to disguise the affair. "Anne was now expected to draw a husband from among the very highest rank and title. This was why Mary's marriage to the second son of the Carey family was a disgrace." (Denny 23) The Boleyn's were schemers to be sure, so when a position opened for Anne to become the King's mistress and second wife, they jumped at the chance. Little did they know that it would kill Anne and her brother in the end.
2 comments:
I think that it is highly interesting how pressure to move up in society caused Anne Boleyn to make the choices she did. It provides a stark contrast to today, where most people are encouraged to marry for love instead of for position. It also shows that affairs were a lot less shameful to both people involved then they are today, even though this might be a bad example because Henry was the king.
The story of Anne Boleyn seems to be one of very high seaming and trickery. It's interesting that she was so unhappy with her marriage to a king, that she would have an affair. Wouldn't you think, that because social status was so important in those days, she would want to do all she could from angering the king?
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