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Is Mantel really implying an incestuous relationship between More and Meg in Wolf Hall? (I won’t read or watch it any further so I can’t find out myself)
This is something that some Protestants constantly like to do and every time it gives me a headache. Like what do you even mean by that? You can’t cope with the ideas that a Catholic man at that time promoted female education and also favored his most academically accomplished child instead of his only son, so you think it could only come from sexual attraction to his own daughter??? (Or maybe there’s also a layer of western people’s obsession with Freud which I could never understand.)
Also she seems to transplant the “education for women” thing from More household to Cromwell household, which makes me confused. Historians agree that what Meg achieved academically sets a great example for female education. Meanwhile I don’t think there’s any account on Cromwell’s opinions and practice on female education (correct me if I’m wrong). (Although I’m not sure if there’s none More school scenes in Wolf Hall because again I’ve not seen it in its entirety myself)
Also I saw somewhere that in the book she writes about Cromwell being kind to Meg and he gave her More’s head. In reality it’s Meg herself who not only had the great courage to do it, but also with precise planning (for the timing) and diplomacy tactics to get out of trouble during interrogation. I think she understood the contemporary psychology and situations very well, so she used the fact of her being merely a woman to say that she kept her father’s belongings only for her own mourning but actually later in life she made great efforts to preserve his works and legacy, under danger and stress, with the burden of being a mother to multiple children. Her daughter Mary also became an accomplished translator.
Mantel also writes Alice as a sad wife that got bullied by More which is the exact opposite personality of the real Alice. I'm not saying Alice was bullying More instead. She had a strong character, was pragmatic, and managed the household well.
So I’m just mildly disappointed with how A Man for All Seasons and The Tudors portray Meg, but it seems there are reasons for me to hate how Wolf Hall portrays her.
Because A Man for All Seasons and The Tudors just dim her lights, while Wolf Hall not only does that but also steals one of the only highlights that current people know about Margaret (it's such a shame most of her works did not survive) and gifts it to the main male antagonist. How much charisma Mantel wants to give to Cromwell (besides the fact the in the fiction and TV adaptation most of the female characters are attracted to him) ???