A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS –

THE INFLUENCE OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Tunnicliff P1

Friendships that exist in the play:

1. More and Rich

- Rich around More because More held high power; was looking for
employment/networking
- More tried to be role model (could see Rich easily corrupt)
- Not true friendship
- Convenient for More to get rid of cup to Rich
o Mutually beneficially
 Rich: gains wealth, gets on in world
 More: gets rid of bribe
- Ironic friendship

2. Rich and Cromwell

- Cromwell uses Rich as source of info (to trap More)

- Mutually beneficially
o Rich: gets power/authority
o Cromwell: gets info on More; more power
- Rich goes to whoever was rising in society
o Associate oneself to rising people; rising up yourself
o From More to Cromwell
- Rich afraid of Cromwell because:
o Cromwell was a powerful man
o Willing to go to great lengths (mention of torture, using the rack)
 Held Rich’s hand over flame to prove point
o Brought out reckless side
 Rich knew own corruption
 Cromwell would make him more corrupt instead of rectify him
- Rich ends up Attorney General of Whales
- Cromwell gets someone to do ‘dirty work’
o Rich held false testimony against More

3. More King and Henry XIII

- More was teacher and advisor

- Mutual respect, affection, admiration, trust
- Hard to be friends with king; was too powerful
- Henry visited More for own gain
o To persuade him to agree with divorce
 - More doesn’t give in, therefore becomes enemy
- “You are my friend, are you not?”
o Agree with divorce = friend; Disagree with divorce = enemy
- Ironic friendship
o Henry: What YOU can do for ME

4. More and Norfolk:

- Hung out together at More’s house; like true friends

o In each other’s company because of friendship, not mutual benefit
- More: self sacrificing to protect to protect Norfolk
o Broke relationship with Norfolk
- Called him ‘water spaniel’
o Dog bred to fetch hunted ducks
o If afraid of water = does not serve its purpose
o Norfolk was hunter/dog breeder
 Water spaniel  for hunting  (when betrayed purpose) useless
 More  religion  (when betraying religion) useless
- “Somewhere along your pedigree a bitch got over the wall!”
o Pedigree is family background/bloodline
o Norfolk was noble; bloodline important
 Title/wealth/power from family; born into nobility
• More on council because of training
• Cromwell on council because of wit/smarts
• Norfolk on council because of nobility
 Bad background = no power/loose everything
- Wanted More to sign Act of Succession for fellowship
o Everyone’s done it, might as well
o Fellowship not effetive argument for More; church above fellowship
o Had to follow own conscience

1.1 The Influence of Family

- Strong relationship between More and family

- Church bound his family
o Family prayer
o Meg couldn’t marry Roper because he was heretic
 No objection from Meg

i. Family tried to convince More to sign act

a. Family condition
i. No candles, nor firewood nor food
b. Say one thing, mean another
c. Recognize state was corrupt
ii. “If there was a crack in the wall I’d go through it.”
a. Wanted to give in
b. No flaws in act
 Only problem living in tower was not seeing family
 More asked to see family; denied
 More comments on Alice’s dress and custard pie
 Alice upset
 Death at hand/life at stake but he care for petty things
 Says useless things but doesn’t speak to defend himself
 Alice’s testimony can cause death of More
 In turn destroy family
 More feels a good death if family supported him
 Guilt of hurting of hurting family/upsetting them
 Guilt of making family feel afraid, lonely, sad

- Roper courting Meg; obeys More for sake of Meg

- Reinforces God before family
- Act 1  Act 2; returned from heretic to Catholic
- Obeyed whatever necessary to achieve goal (Meg)
- Contrast to More; juxtaposed against each other
- Character foil: good character next to bad character
o More: fixed, single minded
o Roper: flexible, willing to change view
o More = fixed for Church, religious beliefs
o Cromwell = fixed for king’s affair