My alternative future thoughts revolved around Cromwell and his dream of retirement at Launde. Cromwell had earned a safe retirement by the end of the novel. Up to and including his designation as Earl of Essex, Cromwell had continuously advanced in status and power based largely on merit.
It is difficult for many to retire when self-identity is woven together with one’s career. For Cromwell, his career (to use a modern term) or calling was combined with political power, which can be even more difficult to retire from. This reticence may be seen with a number of political leaders recently eg Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau. Throughout his advancement in Henry VIII’s court, Cromwell successfully bent his principles and manoeuvred to survive temperamental Henry’s whims and desires. As time progressed, Cromwell’s survival skills enhanced with experience. However, this pattern of successful survival may have made Cromwell overly confident. Did he ignore that ultimately political survival can be beyond one’s personal control. There are points in time when political power is lost simply by one being in the wrong place/position at the wrong time - bad luck. Was Cromwell’s fate, hubris - his failure to retire at the “top of his game” because he thought that he would keep on advancing? Did Cromwell fear giving up his self-identity through power? Was Cromwell’s fate a product of the government system of his day, an absolute monarchy, where many held positions for life, but often a life span that was cut short by execution when an individual fell out of favour with the monarch. The Author’s Notes identifies numerous individuals that fell from favour after Cromwell. Although Cromwell dreamed of a comfortable retirement at Laudne, did he know that this may have been an impossible dream? Once ensnared in Henry’s web, no one was able to escape the King alive.
As The Mirror and the Light approached its end, I had hoped that Cromwell would attain his comfortable retirement at Laudne where he could read and write. I knew this would never happen. Perhaps, Cromwell knew the same.
Thank you for this very thoughtful comment. I totally agree - these books give a strong sense that court politics under Henry was a zero sum game where you either keep winning or fall dramatically, staying still is not an option. I thought I remembered a couple of points where Cromwell observes that his isn't the type of job that people typically retire peacefully from, but annoyingly I couldn't find either when I looked... You also make a good point about his personality - it is hard to imagine someone who was so driven and wrapped up in his work actually stepping back to relax - or Henry letting him!
My alternative future thoughts revolved around Cromwell and his dream of retirement at Launde. Cromwell had earned a safe retirement by the end of the novel. Up to and including his designation as Earl of Essex, Cromwell had continuously advanced in status and power based largely on merit.
It is difficult for many to retire when self-identity is woven together with one’s career. For Cromwell, his career (to use a modern term) or calling was combined with political power, which can be even more difficult to retire from. This reticence may be seen with a number of political leaders recently eg Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau. Throughout his advancement in Henry VIII’s court, Cromwell successfully bent his principles and manoeuvred to survive temperamental Henry’s whims and desires. As time progressed, Cromwell’s survival skills enhanced with experience. However, this pattern of successful survival may have made Cromwell overly confident. Did he ignore that ultimately political survival can be beyond one’s personal control. There are points in time when political power is lost simply by one being in the wrong place/position at the wrong time - bad luck. Was Cromwell’s fate, hubris - his failure to retire at the “top of his game” because he thought that he would keep on advancing? Did Cromwell fear giving up his self-identity through power? Was Cromwell’s fate a product of the government system of his day, an absolute monarchy, where many held positions for life, but often a life span that was cut short by execution when an individual fell out of favour with the monarch. The Author’s Notes identifies numerous individuals that fell from favour after Cromwell. Although Cromwell dreamed of a comfortable retirement at Laudne, did he know that this may have been an impossible dream? Once ensnared in Henry’s web, no one was able to escape the King alive.
As The Mirror and the Light approached its end, I had hoped that Cromwell would attain his comfortable retirement at Laudne where he could read and write. I knew this would never happen. Perhaps, Cromwell knew the same.
Thank you for this very thoughtful comment. I totally agree - these books give a strong sense that court politics under Henry was a zero sum game where you either keep winning or fall dramatically, staying still is not an option. I thought I remembered a couple of points where Cromwell observes that his isn't the type of job that people typically retire peacefully from, but annoyingly I couldn't find either when I looked... You also make a good point about his personality - it is hard to imagine someone who was so driven and wrapped up in his work actually stepping back to relax - or Henry letting him!
Wonderful! The post I needed as we draw to the end of the yearlong read.
Thank you! I had other topics lined up but this one felt like the right one for the moment...
Another interesting post. Thank you
Thanks Judy!