The Fifth Queen Crowned · Chapter
VII explained
Queen Katharine and Lady Mary engage in a tense private conversation in the chapel at Pontefract, where Katharine pleads with Mary to reconcile with her father, the King, and to feign friendship with foreign ambassadors for political reason
What happens
Queen Katharine and Lady Mary engage in a tense private conversation in the chapel at Pontefract, where Katharine pleads with Mary to reconcile with her father, the King, and to feign friendship with foreign ambassadors for political reasons. Mary bitterly resists, accusing Katharine of complicity in the King's crimes and demanding humiliation as the price of compliance. The chapter also describes the Queen's nightly prayer ritual in the small, forgotten chapel, and her encounter with the old priest and the moorsmen who venerate him.
Themes in this chapter
Religious Conflict
The chapel serves as a symbol of the old faith, and the Queen's prayers for England's conversion highlight the religious tensions of the era.
Gender and Agency
The conversation between Katharine and Mary reveals the limited agency of women, who are forced to feign compliance and manipulate within patriarchal structures.
Betrayal and Loyalty
Mary accuses Katharine of betraying her mother's memory and of being complicit in the King's crimes, while Katharine pleads for loyalty to the realm.
Power and Corruption
The King's power is depicted as corrupting, forcing those around him to engage in 'cogging and lying and feigning' to maintain his pride.
Characters to notice
- Katharine Howard
The Queen, who pleads with Lady Mary to reconcile with the King and feign political alliances, enduring Mary's taunts and accusations.
- Lady Mary
The King's daughter, who bitterly resists the Queen's pleas, accusing her of complicity in the King's crimes and demanding humiliation as the price of compliance.
- Lady Rochford
One of the Queen's ladies, mentioned as part of the procession at the foot of the chapel stairs.
- King Henry VIII
Referenced as the King, whose crimes and pride are the subject of Mary's accusations.
- Katharine of Aragon
Mary's mother, whose death Mary invokes as a reason for her hatred of the King.
- Edward IV
The chapel is described as being from Edward IV's time.
Key passages
“ye know well how many have gone to the stake over conspiracies for you in this realm.”
You are well aware of how many have been burned at the stake for plotting on your behalf.
Katharine reminds Mary of the sacrifices made for her cause.
“This is ever the woman's part to gloss over crimes of their men folk.”
It is always the role of women to excuse the wrongdoings of men.
Mary criticizes Katharine for defending the King's actions.
“I am to feign a friendship to my father. That is a lie that you ask me to do, for I hate him as he were the devil.”
You are asking me to pretend to be friendly with my father, but that would be a lie because I hate him as much as I hate the devil.
Mary expresses her deep hatred for the King and her reluctance to pretend otherwise.
“Even as Jacob served so will I.”
I will serve as long as Jacob did.
Katharine compares her persistence to Jacob's seven years of service for Rachel.
“It rests more with thee than with any other in this land.”
The fate of this realm depends more on you than on anyone else.
Katharine emphasizes Mary's importance in the plan to restore the old faith.
