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2:49 pm
August 2, 2010
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Just wondering everyone's opinion on her? I'm guessing they are across the board….?
"Grumble all you like, this is how it's going to be"
9:48 pm
April 9, 2011
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I often view her in a sympathetic light. I will admit that most of what I know of her is from PG's TOBG. And in hindsight, she was the lucky Boleyn child and it is her good fortune that she decided to marry her 2nd husband out of love and in secret and that is the reason why Anne 'banished' her from court. It wouldn't have surprised me that if Mary was still at court during Anne's fall from grace that somehow Mary would have been sacrificed as well.
7:53 am
November 18, 2010
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Mary is another who fell and still falls victim to the good ole double standard regarding sexuality. Henry and Francois catted around and were admired , their women weren't.
In many ways Mary was the luckiest Boleyn. She married at least one man she loved. She may well have loved William Carey as well, we don't really know much about thier marriage. She appears to have been as educated as her siblings but less intelligent.Or maybe less intereasted in political matters.
However I disagree with Bill about what might have happened if Mary was at court when Anne fell. I think she kept herself debliberatly insignificant in order to distance herself from Anne.
It's always bunnies.
12:27 pm
December 5, 2009
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I see Mary Boleyn as an average, normal young woman living in extraordinary times. She was Henry's mistress and may or may not have born him a child or two, but if that is her only historical significance then I do think her importance has been grossly exaggerated. Why not a bio on Bessie Blount who we know gave birth to Henry's illegitimate son?
Mary stayed clear of trouble, but I don't think she deliberately distanced herself from Anne. Why would she if in 1534 Anne was still Henry's beloved wife. I think the fact that Mary stayed clear of trouble was more luck than judgment, although I agree that she was probably never really at risk.
I have absolutely nothing against Mary who seems to have been an affectionate, decent person and certainly not a bad person, but in the grand scheme of things, she is of very little historical significance.
5:46 am
May 19, 2011
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I think she was very lucky. At the time she may have been considered foolish and a little indiscreet with her affairs, but she came out the least attacked of the Boleyn siblings. Sweet natured and not so clever. But when we say “lucky” what does that really mean? If Mary had wanted a great marriage to a nobleman with lots of worldly wealth and status then she wasn't lucky. Anne was prepared to sacrifice her life for the great Prince she would bear Henry, and she did, so isn't she lucky? She fulfilled her dream whereas I don't know if Mary did- mind you, she did marry for love, so maybe my prattling is useless!
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
9:39 am
August 2, 2010
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I think that Mary was, as everyone said, the luckiest of the three Boleyn siblings. She had an affair with Henry, which was probably horrible once he discarded her, yet she did get two children from that (maybe), a good marriage, and plenty of time in the limelight at court as the King's mistress. Then, she married for love and, of course, escaped the fates of her sister and brother. I don't think she was an angel, nor do I think she was a complete wh*re, or at least no more than any other woman trying to advance herself at the Tudor court.
"Grumble all you like, this is how it's going to be"
12:59 pm
February 10, 2010
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I think she was a fairly laid-back character (if you'll forgive the pun) until she really felt she had to make a stand for something. That letter she wrote to Cromwell when she was in disgrace for marrying Stafford shows she had her share of the Boleyn feistiness when she needed it.
1:00 pm
December 5, 2009
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Anne fan said:
I think she was a fairly laid-back character (if you'll forgive the pun) until she really felt she had to make a stand for something. That letter she wrote to Cromwell when she was in disgrace for marrying Stafford shows she had her share of the Boleyn feistiness when she needed it.
When I think of that letter Mary wrote to Cromwell I can't help thinking what a foolish thing it was to do. To the Boleyns Cromwell was little more than a glorified cleric, so for Mary to write a begging letter to him asking him to intervene with her family could only have caused humiliation to her proud father and siblings. Did she honestly think that would help her cause? I cannot think of anything she could have done which was less likely to effect a reconciliation. That act alone shows she was no diplomat and certainly not a person whose intellect matched her siblings.
Mary is portrayed in fiction as a heroine for marrying for love, but clearly her husband couldn't support her properly if she had to beg for financial help from her estranged family. And what about Stafford in all this? Did he know his wife was asking for financial support, and if so where was his pride and dignity? Mary may have married for love, but what about Stafford?
5:37 pm
November 18, 2010
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I sometimes wonder if Mary married Stafford to avoid another marriage for her family's ambitions.
It's always bunnies.
8:21 pm
May 16, 2011
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I honestly don't know how to think of Mary. At first in Phillipa Gregory's novel i believed it and thought 'Wow, Mary was innocent and nice and Anne was bitchy and mean'. Then i started researching and digging deeper and found out that Mary was very wild and promisuous. She was a mistress of 2 kings, and may have been for other men…who knows!? Mary was also not close with Anne and i'm guessing not too bright.
When i think of Mary Boleyn, i think party girl who obviously loves the sexual attention of men yet wasn't in the 'in' crowd either. And again, she was the lucky Boleyn sibling. She survived and married a man for love, lived a long-ish happy life with her kids and husband. If she hadn't met Will Stafford she probably would've gone down with her sister and brother. It was the life changing desicion to marry Stafford that saved her, so lucky her. Congrats.
• Grumble all you like, this is how it’s going to be.
11:57 am
June 7, 2010
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Mary Boleyn really is the other Boleyn girl. Out done by her sister in every department, a footnote in history, died in anonymity, gained infamy in posterity.
I don't believe she was PG's version, anymore than was she simply as court sl*t. There was more to Mary. Did she have the intellectual, power hungry, political mind set of her family? No, but is that a bad thing? People have defended Anne, whose reputation during life and after death was mud, yet these same people cannot defend her sister. Why? There has to be more capable defenders than PG and Alison Weir.
From my readings of her life, Mary is as complex as Anne. Never quite pinned down, always elusive, yet intriguing. She played the game of high stakes court politics, wound up the mistress of two Kings (I'm sure not of her own desire), and survived the bloodshed of her family.
Was she lucky? I guess that depends on one's definition of the word. But, if I had to choose between dying on the scaffold and leaving my child to god knows what fate, or marrying and living quietly in the country, I know which I'd choose.
Anyanka, I've often wondered if Mary did not marry Stafford to avoid her family's ambition? Perhaps she tired of the constant need for power, and wanted something simpler. She tasted the fruit of power and passion and lost, twice. Maybe she was satisfied with simplicity. I cannot fault her for that.
"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn
9:03 am
May 19, 2011
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She certainly was the odd one out in the Boleyn family. I think she just happily did her own thing, was carefree, plump and cheerful. So she probably did marry Stafford to remove herself from her family, perhaps she finally found someone similar to herself and couldn't let him go..
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
11:55 am
February 24, 2010
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I happen to think Mary was a gentle-natured fun person to be around. After all, she did capture the attention of two kings. And she survived the both of them. I think Court life lost its appeal once Henry let her go. She had her children to consider, and it didn't seem like there were other prospects on her horizon. Her family didn't even seem to notice her until she got pregnant and married Stafford. Stafford offered her love and stability and she grabbed it. Who wouldn't? I like her moxy.
