Henry and Katherine's Politicized Relationship
Mary Purnell
Raphael Holinshed spares none of the political details surrounding Henry V’s marriage to Katherine of Valois in his Chronicles of England. In the book, he includes a complete transcription of the contract that granted Henry both France and Katherine. Thus does a pattern of equating Katherine with France begin with Holinshed.
Shakespeare finds several opportunities in Henry V to continue this pattern, most of them reimagining Katherine as a symbol for English conquest. Henry does exactly this in what at first appears to be an innocent compliment towards his future wife:
Shakespeare finds several opportunities in Henry V to continue this pattern, most of them reimagining Katherine as a symbol for English conquest. Henry does exactly this in what at first appears to be an innocent compliment towards his future wife:
And you may, some of you, thank
love for my blindness, who cannot see many a fair
French city for one fair French maid that stands in
my way.
(V.ii.328-330)
While harmless on the surface, Henry’s words weigh heavy with political implications. He syntactically positions Katherine and France in close proximity, even equating them through the anaphoric epithet, “fair French.” Henry is not shying away from the fact that both are prizes, and though his intended meaning states otherwise, the syntactical realities of his speech suggest that both prizes come at equal value. Coming along to make everybody sufficiently uncomfortable is Katherine’s father, who connects the dots for us and adds a disturbing second meaning to this image. The French king explicitly equates these fair French cities with virgins, “girdled with maiden walls that war hath never entered” (334-335).
According to the king, France is a virgin, and according to Henry, Katherine is France. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that Katherine is herself a virgin, but through this series of relationships, Henry and the King define her as something more. She’s not just a virgin; she’s the virgin that “stands in / [Henry’s] way” as he penetrates France’s maiden walls – and Katherine’s. The princess is the maiden wall, and she represents Henry’s conquest. Marrying her solidifies his claim to the throne, and sexually conquering her solidifies his conquest of her country.
Henry’s efforts to woo Katherine seem to match this politicized approach to her character. Shakespeare has the wooing scene follow the climactic battle of Agincourt and precede the official treaty, thereby positing the conquest of Katherine’s heart as politically tantamount to a successful military campaign, if not superior. We get the sense that Henry desperately wants Katherine to accept him in this scene, but certain clues suggest that his attempts at romance fall properly short of genuine.
Even Katherine is put off at first by the famously gag-inducing "you are like an angel" line (V.ii.113-114). Naturally, she responds with immediate discomfort and mistrust. "Ô bon Dieu," she retorts, "les langues des hommes sont / pleines de tromperies" ("Oh good God, the tongues of men are full of deceits," 120-121). Katherine’s suspicion of her suitor is not unfounded, and it cautions the reader against taking anything Henry says at face value.
And he takes us on some wild rhetorical roller coasters. The wooing scene is ninety lines exactly, and Henry dominates the clear majority of them. He’s trying to talk himself into Katherine’s good graces – that much is certain. Running up against her skepticism, Henry pulls off one argument in particular that is so convoluted it requires re-reading. Following Katherine’s accusation that he is an enemy to France, Henry replies:
According to the king, France is a virgin, and according to Henry, Katherine is France. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that Katherine is herself a virgin, but through this series of relationships, Henry and the King define her as something more. She’s not just a virgin; she’s the virgin that “stands in / [Henry’s] way” as he penetrates France’s maiden walls – and Katherine’s. The princess is the maiden wall, and she represents Henry’s conquest. Marrying her solidifies his claim to the throne, and sexually conquering her solidifies his conquest of her country.
Henry’s efforts to woo Katherine seem to match this politicized approach to her character. Shakespeare has the wooing scene follow the climactic battle of Agincourt and precede the official treaty, thereby positing the conquest of Katherine’s heart as politically tantamount to a successful military campaign, if not superior. We get the sense that Henry desperately wants Katherine to accept him in this scene, but certain clues suggest that his attempts at romance fall properly short of genuine.
Even Katherine is put off at first by the famously gag-inducing "you are like an angel" line (V.ii.113-114). Naturally, she responds with immediate discomfort and mistrust. "Ô bon Dieu," she retorts, "les langues des hommes sont / pleines de tromperies" ("Oh good God, the tongues of men are full of deceits," 120-121). Katherine’s suspicion of her suitor is not unfounded, and it cautions the reader against taking anything Henry says at face value.
And he takes us on some wild rhetorical roller coasters. The wooing scene is ninety lines exactly, and Henry dominates the clear majority of them. He’s trying to talk himself into Katherine’s good graces – that much is certain. Running up against her skepticism, Henry pulls off one argument in particular that is so convoluted it requires re-reading. Following Katherine’s accusation that he is an enemy to France, Henry replies:
No, it is not possible you should love the
enemy of France, Kate. But, in loving me, you
should love the friend of France, for I love France
so well that I will not part with a village of it. I will
have it all mine. And, Kate, when France is mine
and I am yours, then yours is France and you are mine.
(V.ii.178-184)
Henry’s rationale makes sense, but not without revisiting it a couple of times and working one’s way logically through each step. The inexperienced and English-handicapped Katherine can offer no better than an uncertain "I cannot tell wat is dat" in response to Henry’s mental gymnastics (185).
These excerpts represent only a fraction of the wooing scene, which can be simply charming if performed well. Henry’s cheesy lines and convoluted arguments could just as easily be the products of poor flirting skills as master manipulation techniques. So rather than a definitive conclusion, we walk away from this scene with a puzzling question: Is Henry manipulating Katherine, or does he truly love her?
There will never be a right answer to this question. But when we compare Henry’s rhetoric here to the disrespectful sexual innuendos he makes about Katherine immediately afterward, the possibility of true love seems to fade; perhaps Katherine is, in the end, little more than another prize in Henry’s conquest.
These excerpts represent only a fraction of the wooing scene, which can be simply charming if performed well. Henry’s cheesy lines and convoluted arguments could just as easily be the products of poor flirting skills as master manipulation techniques. So rather than a definitive conclusion, we walk away from this scene with a puzzling question: Is Henry manipulating Katherine, or does he truly love her?
There will never be a right answer to this question. But when we compare Henry’s rhetoric here to the disrespectful sexual innuendos he makes about Katherine immediately afterward, the possibility of true love seems to fade; perhaps Katherine is, in the end, little more than another prize in Henry’s conquest.