The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Is Modern a Problem?
Thank you for inviting me to your blog again, Tony. Today, I’d like to talk about where the real Anne Boleyn might sit within the screen portrayals of her, and the dangers of modernising historical figures like Anne.
My favourite portrayal of Anne Boleyn on screen is Genevieve Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days, though she wasn’t the first on-screen Anne I saw – that was Natalie Dormer in The Tudors. Genevieve Bujold demonstrates all of the fire and passion that sources say Anne had. Stephanie Russo says that Bujold’s Anne is ‘an Anne for the 1960s women’s liberation movement: she has self-determination, intelligence, agency, and ambition’. (1) These are qualities which we know the real Anne had. An example is where Anne and Henry are talking having taken a break from riding and Anne says:
‘I’ve heard what your courtiers say, and I’ve seen what you are. You’re spoiled and vengeful and bloody. Your poetry is sour, and your music is worse. You make love as you eat, with a good deal of noise and no subtlety.’ (2)
Her passion shines through, and her runaway mouth which would eventually be used against her. The only fault I’ve really been able to find with Bujold’s Anne Boleyn is that she is a little lacking in political acumen and her role in the annulment case and Reformation appears downplayed – the focus is very much on the relationship between Henry and Anne, the sunshine and storms of how that played out.
However, we do get this political involvement in Claire Foy’s interpretation in Wolf Hall. It is also note-worthy that Foy’s performance the only interpretation of Anne I’ve seen or am aware of with a French lilt in her voice, which it is possible the real Anne Boleyn had. Foy’s Anne isn’t a sympathetic portrayal because we are seeing her through Cromwell’s eyes, but we really get a sense of her political agency and influence over the king, even though her religious beliefs are barely alluded to. She confronts Cromwell with her power and influence:
‘Since my coronation there is a new England. And it can’t subsist without me. I’m warning you, make terms with me, Cromwell. Before my child is born.’ (3)
Comparing the two quotes, from Anne of the Thousand Days and Wolf Hall, Bujold’s Anne is almost mocking Henry, it’s quite comedic on screen but shows how Anne’s mouth could run away with her while Foy’s Anne is deadly serious, almost threatening, believing that her son would give her unrivalled power and influence over the king.
For me, the real Anne Boleyn probably lies somewhere between Genevieve Bujold’s passionate interpretation and Claire Foy’s politically minded Anne, though I will always have a soft spot for Natalie Dormer in The Tudors as the first on-screen Anne Boleyn that I saw, and which sparked my interest in her and the period more generally, and with Dormer we certainly get more of Anne’s religious beliefs and her tenacity in standing up for her beliefs.
But these modern screen interpretations can cause problems. It is impossible to make a dramatic interpretation of Anne without imposing our own beliefs onto it. We also benefit from hindsight, knowing how Anne Boleyn would meet her end, and can insert hints into earlier portions of these adaptations, alluding to what’s to come.
Anne is often described as a ‘modern’ woman or a ‘feminist’, ahead of her times. But it isn’t fair to label people who lived 500 years ago as modern because they wouldn’t understand, and might well be horrified, at the society in which we live today. In many ways, Anne was traditional in what she wanted – she wanted to marry and have children. She was better educated than many of her social status at the time and that did set her apart and was a part of what drew the king to her in the first place. But she was very much a woman of the sixteenth century, and we have to be careful not to put our own modern beliefs, prejudices, and feelings onto a society that, as much as we study it and research it, can still be very difficult for us to understand and comprehend.
History is about uncovering the reality of people, events, and movements, as far as we can, whether good or bad. Events like Anne’s fall and execution should make you feel uncomfortable, angry, upset, indignant. Sometimes it is easy to forget that these events and lives aren’t just stories. They were real people and, when we research them, we owe them the justice of telling the truth. If there is no evidence, don’t relate something as fact. Anne of the Thousand Days, Wolf Hall, and The Tudors are all dramas, made primarily for entertainment. That is just one element of Anne Boleyn’s story.
Anne is a great example of where the present is taking over the past and we need to strip that back, go to the contemporary sources to find out what really happened. Examining interpretations over time as I do in The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception can help us to strip back what’s been added over time and bring out what we know about the real Anne Boleyn.
Helene Harrison
References:
(1) Russo, Stephanie, The Afterlife of Anne Boleyn: Representations of Anne Boleyn in Fiction and on the Screen (2020) p.273.
(2) Anne of the Thousand Days (1969).
(3) Wolf Hall, episode 5 (2015).
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