tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post6714586278509065536..comments2024-03-23T15:35:20.874-05:00Comments on Tudor Q and A: Question from Michelle - Refusing Henry VIII's advancesLarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630629272030282584noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-52428894898462741822013-02-03T09:52:03.392-06:002013-02-03T09:52:03.392-06:00Remember that Jane Seymour refused Henry's fir...Remember that Jane Seymour refused Henry's first advances. Whether she was coached by her family who saw Anne's 6-7 year refusal as a successful ploy, or she did this on her own out of a moral conviction is unclear. <br />kbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840188159816630368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-87612495233390513082013-01-30T12:35:53.609-06:002013-01-30T12:35:53.609-06:00JF: Thank you for the link! It gave me quite a bit...JF: Thank you for the link! It gave me quite a bit of food for thought on Anne Boleyn. It can be very hard to parse her refusal; was she being coy, or did she truly try and reject him and just had to give in when he kept coming and called her "bluff"? And of course, it could also be something in the middle, such as initially fobbing him off but then becoming intrigued by the possibilities.<br /><br />Anon: I also remember reading the same thing about Henry and courtly love... I think at this blog! While I agree that he probably wasn't the type to force himself on a woman in a physical way, I was wondering if there was an undercurrent of displeasure that could affect the woman or her family which she might want to avoid. I definitely agree that the woman's family would probably play a great part in encouraging her to accept him regardless of her personal feelings!<br /><br /><br />As context for my question, I'm planning to make an interactive text story (like an advanced Choose Your Own Adventure) where the "player" is a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon. Depending on the player's choices and behaviour, Henry may end up propositioning "her". Judging by his mistresses, there could be several outcomes for accepting him (e.g. Mary Boleyn, Bessie Blount, Jane Seymour) or even "coy" refusal (Anne Boleyn), but I'm trying to imagine the possible outcomes for more definitive rejections. I can certainly imagine all sorts of potential plotlines (with variants for how polite the player is, what excuse they give, etc), but I'd love to get some more academic opinions on how this sort of sexual negotiation would play out. These comments so far have been really helpful, though I also welcome more!<br />Michellenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-62694601702776639062013-01-28T12:04:07.053-06:002013-01-28T12:04:07.053-06:00Women may have been encouraged to submit to the ki...Women may have been encouraged to submit to the kings advances as the kings pleasure or displeasure with her was often reflected upon her family. Many young ladies were put forward as candidates for the kings affections by their families. I remember reading somewhere (sorry, can't remember where) that Henry never forced himself upon a woman, he was a romantic fond of wooing and a great proponent of courtly/knightly love which was often nonsexual in nature he had relatively few mistresses compaired to other monarches of the period ie Francis of France. All that said it doesn't mean the ladies in question were truely attracted to him, although in the early days he was reportedly quite gallant, manly and handsome a true renassiance man so it's believable however as he aged, with his weight, festering ulcers on his legs, baldness etc..not so much. But I suppose the addage "It's good to be the king" had meritAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-25883078248299192202013-01-26T02:43:03.916-06:002013-01-26T02:43:03.916-06:00Don't know about a firm and obvious no, but Ka...Don't know about a firm and obvious no, but Karen Lindsey's 'Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation of the Wives of Henry VIII' goes into great detail about Henry VIII's pursuit of Anne Boleyn and is worth reading. A passage from it is quoted in this article:<br /><br />http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/8136/anne-boleyn-the-mysterious-and-maligned-one/Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04643867644280243315noreply@blogger.com