Thomas More Thomas Cromwell
Satan's cat - Behemoth
Atticus Finch was always to good to be true. But is was soothing to think that in the 1930's South or anywhere for that matter, amid racism, lynchings and the corrupt human condition there might be a brave, essentially defenseless individual devoted to law and due process. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird created such a character and Gregory Peck brought him to life in the subsequent movie. It was impossible not to develop an emotional attachment to this good man's struggle for justice in an ugly social environment. Now Lee's second book Go Set the Watchman is reportedly the "first" and provides us with a debased but more believable protagonist - it is a character adjusted. Atticus Finch belongs to Harper Lee - so we have lost a great fictional hero. But I shall not read the new "first" second book.
Character adjustments are of course as common as writers. Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall burnishes the character of Thomas Cromwell and blisters that of Thomas More, both personas real. If the Roman Church had anything to do with your education (it provided my early education) then Cromwell was taught as a "doctrinaire hack" to Henry VIII. Cromwell supported the Reformation, the annulment of Henry's marriage to Katherine of Aragon, the split with the Papacy, beheading Thomas More, all paving the way for a besotted Henry's marriage to Ann Boleyn. Later Cromwell at Henry's behest creates the charges leading to Ann's execution. So it was but Mantel also displays Cromwell as an abused youngster who flees to Europe, becomes a soldier, merchant, practices law, speaks French, Italian and passable Latin and returns to England. Cromwell rises to become the fiercely loyal adviser to Cardinal Wolsey and later Henry VIII. In service to Henry's Royal Treasury and the Reformation, Cromwell will close down approximately 800 religious houses/abbeys in just four years. Yes, he was ambitious struggling up through a nearly impenetrable class system. Cromwell was a problem fixer - using intimidation, extortion and torture in pursuit of objectives and in pay back for past wrongs. But Cromwell in Mantel's hands is also restrained and in context even humane. He was an excellent family man. After falling out of favor with Henry over the choice of his fourth wife Ann of Cleves, Cromwell was beheaded in 1540.
The other character adjusted by Mantel is Thomas More, lawyer, scholar, statesman, social philosopher, Lord Chancellor of England and awarded sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church. As with Atticus Finch a movie created a mesmerizing image of Thomas More. Paul Schofield in A Man for All Seasons (1966) portrays an elegant Thomas More - a leader of the Roman Church, who understands God's law and that obedience to it is required for salvation. But he is not into heroics. "I am not the stuff of martyrs" he suggests and offers Henry his "silence" on the proposed annulment of the marriage to Katherine. Henry requires his affirmation. More, underestimating his penchant for martyrdom will not affirm and is beheaded in 1535.
Hilary Mantel displays Thomas More as a religious zealot. More enjoyed torturing a tad too much. Prison rooms and instruments of torture were kept at his home Chelsea for use in interrogating and saving sinners and heretics. If they could not be saved then he was willing to burn them - including one London seller of banned books. More also had a taste for masochism - his penance might include a "hair shirt" or self flagellation. Allowing for context More's character still seems considerably removed from the gentle Jesus. If ever moved to do some praying St. Thomas More will not be my first choice as an intermediary with God.
Satan, aka Lucifer, Beelzebub, Devil and the "serpent" is fictional to many but as real as darkness to others. He is an arrogant, charismatic angel who organized and led legions of angels in a massive coup attempt against God Almighty. Driven out of heaven Satan and his forces were consigned by God to Hell - from which Satan later escaped. With cunning and deception he then engineers the Fall of Man, expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the introduction of death to the human species. But of course I oversimplify - please see John Milton's Paradise Lost for the complete tale with all the intricate details. But here is a question - is it possible to burnish the character of such a universally acknowledged villain?
In Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita the "serpent" is named Woland. His left eye is green, insane and on occasion blazes brightly. The right eye is empty, black and dead. Woland's wardrobe ranges from impeccably tailored black tailcoats, a black half mask and a magnificent black cloak - but he often lounges around at home in a greasy, dirty nightshirt. His visit to Moscow exposes and humiliates fools, incompetents, hypocrites and apparatchiks. Woland's retinue includes Koroviev, a smooth talking advance man - a tall, skinny presence in a checkered suit and perpetually cracked eye wear. The devil's cat - Behemoth, is a large, black tom with the surprising ability to walk on its hind legs. The cat enjoys vodka, cognac and frankfurter snacks. His feline independence exasperates even the Devil. But when asked to tear a head off Behemoth will comply in a most business like fashion. He has also been known to pack - it is unclear where - a Browning semi-automatic pistol. The last member is Azazello, a short, stocky individual wearing a bowler hat. At Woland's request he will perform the occasional intimidation, abduction or wet job. Azazello is immediately recognizable by the fang protruding from his jaw. Woland and crew dispense a rough justice on the stupid and corrupt yet liberate others from persecution and punishment. Bulgakov does not refurbish Satan's character but he does hold up a mirror to humanity and then renders the devil some due.
Mikhail Bulgakov The Master and Margarita (Pevear and Volokhonsky trans.) 1997.
Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird 1960.
Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall 2009.
Bring Up the Bodies 2012.
John Milton Paradise Lost 1667.
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