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Liz Wykys
Jane Seymour is one of Anne Boleyn’s ladies-in-waiting. Her quiet humor and kindness catch Thomas Cromwell’s eye. She is a pale, quiet girl when he first sees her, and she seems immediately different to him from the other conniving people he usually encounters at court. He pities her when the story of her father, John Seymour, sleeping with his daughter-in-law makes the rounds, causing her great embarrassment. Though Jane’s family is surrounded in scandal and the court is filled with intrigue and deceit, Jane herself seems pure and untouched by it all—Cromwell is reminded of her when he sees white lilies. Anne seems to dislike Jane immensely and insults her frequently. Jane tells Cromwell that she prefers serving Queen Katherine, whom she served before she was brought to Anne, but Cromwell advises her to stay with Anne Boleyn since it will be better for her career. Jane seems to reciprocate Cromwell’s interest in her, and at the novel’s conclusion, Cromwell is making plans to go visit her at her home in Wolf Hall. Throughout the novel, Cromwell cautions other men against falling in love with the same women Henry is interested in. Ironically, this is exactly what he seems to be doing, since history shows that Henry’s next wife will be this very same Jane Seymour.
Jane Seymour Quotes in Wolf Hall
The Wolf Hall quotes below are all either spoken by Jane Seymour or refer to Jane Seymour. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 4: Chapter 2 Quotes
“Look,” she says. She holds up her sleeves. The bright blue with which she has edged them, that kingfisher flash, is cut from the silk in which he wrapped her present of needlework patterns. How do matters stand now at Wolf Hall, he asks, as tactfully as he can: how do you ask after a family, in the wake of incest? She says in her clear little voice, “Sir John is very well. But then Sir John is always very well. […] Why don’t you make some business in Wiltshire and ride down to inspect us? Oh, and if the king gets a new wife, she will need matrons to attend her, and my sister Liz is coming to court. […] I would rather go up-country to the queen, myself. […]”
“If I were your father…no…” he rephrases it, “if I were to advise you, it would be to serve Lady Anne.”
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Jane Seymour Character Timeline in Wolf Hall
The timeline below shows where the character Jane Seymour appears in Wolf Hall. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 3: Chapter 2: Entirely Beloved Cromwell, Spring-December 1530
...Boleyn has low standards to set her sights on him. He also notices a quiet girl he does not know, “who has her face turned away, trying to hide.”
(full context)
...find Anne’s breasts, which Mary laughs uproariously at. Right after, Anne sends “the small hiding girl” to bring Mary back inside. As Mary heads back inside in a huff, “the small...
(full context)
Anne Boleyn shows them a drawing which was found in her bed by the “ sickly milk-faced creeper ” who “cries if you look at her sideways.” The drawing shows three figures—the king...
(full context)
As Cromwell and Cranmer are leaving, they see the pale girl heading toward them, and Cromwell asks her if she has been spying. She nods and...
(full context)
Part 4: Chapter 1: Arrange Your Face, 1531
...present of Venetian forks, and he gets a book of needlework patterns for “the little girl who always cries.” Anne tells him “Pasty-face” has gone from court since her family has...
(full context)
Part 4: Chapter 2: “Alas, What Shall I Do for Love?”, Spring 1532
At the celebration afterward, Cromwell spots John Seymour’s daughter, the pale, quiet girl he is so taken with. She holds up her hands and shows him the “kingfisher...
(full context)
Part 5: Chapter 1: Anna Regina, 1533
...that pregnant mothers have to stay warm to have sons. Jane Seymour, the pale, quiet girl, says she would like a baby too, and Jane Rochford tells her to be careful...
(full context)
Part 5: Chapter 2: Devil’s Spit, Autumn and Winter 1533
...the Seymour sisters. The older one, Liz Seymour, is “bold and hazel and eloquent,” while Jane Seymour is “indefinite and blurred” and “her eyes are the color of water.” Jane Rochford tells...
(full context)
Jane Rochford says she knows that Cromwell is in love with Jane Seymour , and that her people are not rich and will happily marry off Jane to...
(full context)
Part 6: Chapter 2: The Map of Christendom, 1534-1535
...tells Jane Seymour that he did not think she was friends with Mary, and the girl replies that “[n]o one else will help her.” Jane Rochford tells Mary that she has...
(full context)
Jane Rochford leaves the room, slamming the door on her way out, and Jane Seymour quietly tells Mary Boleyn to let her go and forget her. When Mary leaves the...
(full context)
