Foil

Character Role Analysis

Katherine to Anne

As the two principal women in the play, Anne and Katherine are bound to be compared. They share a lot more than their gender and the same husband, though: pretty much everyone considers both women to be noble, trustworthy, and virtuous. In fact, even when Henry is divorcing Katherine, he sings her praises.

Now, we know what you're thinking: if Katherine is so awesome, Anne must be a real piece of work to hit a girl when she's down. Actually, though, she's not: even the townspeople comment on how beautiful and noble Anne is. It seems like everyone loves her—everyone except Wolsey, that is.

It's almost a little strange how the women in this play are more praised and esteemed than the men? The Epilogue is on to something when he tells us that the play got one thing right: "the merciful construction of good women" (Epilogue.10).

So what gives? Well, maybe, as the Epilogue suggests, Shakespeare was trying to get his audience thinking about women and how they are viewed by society. He does go out of his way to tell us that the women are the saving grace of the play—and a lot of critics would say that this isn't the first time that has happened in a Shakespeare play.