St. Thomas More is still today a much
loved and admired saint by people of all beliefs. He is admired for being a
virtuous man, a great statesman and the epitome of a family man.
The atheist author, Robert Bolt, successfully portrayed St. Thomas More's struggle
for the truth with King Hennery VIII in his play A Man For All Seasons.
Bolt's presentation of the most critical moments in Moore's life
demonstrates not only St. Thomas Moore the statesman, but also St. Thomas Moore
the father. This paper aims to briefly outline what a Catholic Father is and explore
Bolt's presentation of St. Thomas Moore as a Catholic father.
Bolt portrays St. Thomas More’s vocation
as father, the head of the domestic church. In a world today that looks
strikingly similar to the world of More’s day, this great saint as expressed by
Bolt can be a work of encouragement. The play expresses a father who knows his
role and lives out his vocation to the fullest.
“The family home is rightly called
"the domestic church," a community of grace and prayer, a school of
human virtues and of Christian charity.” (CCC 1666) Bolt
understood that it is within this domestic church that
“all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized.”(CCC 1657) As
a husband and father, More, lived out his vocation to the married life by
looking after the physical and spiritual wellbeing of his family. The play
demonstrates More as the head of his domestic church.
All those who are baptized are called to
the threefold priestly office of priest, prophet, and king. “The whole
community of believers is, as such, priestly. The faithful exercise their
baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own
vocation, in Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and king.” (CCC 1546) A
father exercises his priestly role through leading his family in worship and
desiring to pass on his love of the faith to his children. “In a very special
way, parents share in the office of sanctifying "by leading a conjugal
life in the Christian spirit and by seeing to the Christian education of their
children." (CCC 892) He fulfills his role as prophet by teaching his
children about the faith. “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the
testimony of life." (CCC 905) Just
as important as his priestly and prophetic offices is his kingly office. A
father fulfills his kingly office by cooperating with his pastor to work
towards the salvation of the souls of his family. (CCC 910)
From the very beginning of the play Bolt
presents More as exercising his priestly role. Thomas More is called for one
night by Cardinal Woolsey and must leave his home quickly. Before leaving,
however, he exercises his priestly office, leading his family in their night
prayers. The playwright includes in the stage directions the note that the “The
More family, as a matter of routine, put their hands together.” (Bolt 15) More,
Margaret and Alice then pray “Dear Lord, give us rest tonight, or if we must be
wakeful, cheerful. Careful only for our soul’s salvation. For Christ’s sake.
Amen.” (Bolt 15) Bolt makes it clear through his stage direction and the
content of his prayer that More’s family is a family that has a habit of
routine prayer which has led them to a comfort in addressing the Lord
personally.
St. Thomas More acts as prophet or
teacher to his family primarily through his example. Bolt demonstrates his
example by clearly showing More’s saintly character. When the king comes to
visit the More household, he arrives just as More is leaving his chapel after
praying vespers, dressed simply. When Thomas is criticized by his wife for wearing
simple cloths in front of the king, he does not admonish his wife. Rather he
explains humbly as a teacher , his reason. “The service of God is not a
dishonor to any office. Believe me, my friend, I do not belittle the honor His
Majesty is doing me.” (Bolt 46) More, through his example and simple words, teaches
a very complex lesson on the relationship between Church and State. Understanding
the relationship between Church and State, he is able to effectively teach the
lesson to his family through his example.
Bolt portrays More exercising his kingly
power over his daughter who, in the first act of the play, desires to marry
Roper, a heretic. Thomas makes it clear that he will not consent to the
marriage until Roper returns to the Catholic Church. “Roper, the answer is “no”
and will be “no” as long as you’re a heretic.” (Bolt 30) In refusing permission
for his daughter’s hand in marriage, More, like a good king is looking out for
the best interest of his subject, his daughter. Even when it is necessary for
More to be stern, he still conducts himself as a Christian, he calmly rejects
Roper’s request with an explanation, but does not demean Roper.
Bolt again shows More exercising his
kingly character in a different way in the second act. More advises his then
son in law, Roper, who had returned to the Catholic faith and married More’s
daughter to be silent rather than commit high treason because he needs to look
after his family. More here is demonstrated as having a proper relationship
with his grown children and their families. Since his children have been raised
properly he does not force anything upon them yet he still continues to offer
his fatherly advice.
Bolt leaves no doubt in his audiences
mind that More loves and cares for his family as any good father should. He
goes to great length to show that More refuses to tell his family his exact
views of the king’s petition to divorce and remarry. While his family surly
knows his view, he refuses to state it so as to keep his family from being
tempted to sin. By never telling them his view, they could still, in good
conscience, tell government officials that they did not know his views rather
than be tempted into sin.
It is surprising that
an atheist had the ability to successfully portray St. Thomas More as a
Catholic Father. The play A Man For All
Seasons successfully demonstrates St. Thomas more exercising his role as
priest, prophet and king in virtue of his baptism as he guides his family, the
domestic church. Bolt’s play presents Thomas More as a Catholic Father. By
reading this book fathers can find for themselves a model to follow for raising
their children.
Bolt,
Robert. A Man For All Seasons. New
York: Vintage International, 1990. Print.
Catholic Church. Catechism
of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana,
2000. Print.
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