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fideidefenswhore · 1 year ago

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Again and again, today's popular media represents Henry VIII as lecherous, insatiable, callous, unfeeling and self-centered. The truth is a lot more complex. The character that has emerged over these pages is of a man of strong feeling but little emotional intelligence, wilful and obstinate but also fiery and charismatic, intelligent but blinkered, attempting to rule and preserve his honour against his profound sense of duty and heavy responsibility to fulfil his divinely ordained role. This was a man who channelled great loss and hurt into physical pursuits, intense theological interest and sometimes savage anger; above all , a proud, awesome, and well-intentioned but also flawed and self-deceiving monarch.

1536: The Year that Changed Henry VIII, Suzannah Lipscomb

#suzannah lipscomb #there are so few fictional portaryals that are...anything near is the thing which is like #so BSR was very shallow overall #i think the tudors played into this a lot as well (particularly ah. lecherous~)#but the bar is so low that literally anything depicting him as having even moments #of sincerity and/or humanity and/or vulnerability in some sense #gets a pass from me #the picture is complex and the projects that disclude those miss the mark #i would agree on little emotional intelligence as well #extremely sensitive and mature in some other ways but emotional intelligence was...not high #someone that was in denial of their emotion and looked for escape routes from it whenever it became unbearable #*felt unbearable #escaping blame and responsibility and guilt and self-critique whenever and however possible ; to ends #that no one could ever justify

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