Part 1. Chapter 1

Thomas Cromwell has fallen on the cobbles in the courtyard and his father, the blacksmith Walter, kicks him brutally. Walter yells for him to get up, but Thomas is badly hurt and can't. He has a deep gash on his head, his nose is bleeding, and one eye is swollen shut. The twine on his father's boot has come loose, and Walter blames Thomas for it, saying that by kicking him, he has managed to ruin his boots. When Walter kicks Thomas again, a hard knot in the loose twine opens another cut on Thomas's brow.

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Wolf Hall: Part 1: Chapter 1

Summary & Analysis

Power, Ambition, and Deception Theme Icon Poor Leadership and Violence Theme Icon Children and Human Connection Theme Icon Dogmatism vs. Open-Mindedness Theme Icon Myth and Storytelling Theme Icon Themes Key

SummaryAnalysis

Thomas Cromwell has fallen on the cobbles in the courtyard and his father, the blacksmith Walter, kicks him brutally. Walter yells for him to get up, but Thomas is badly hurt and can't. He has a deep gash on his head, his nose is bleeding, and one eye is swollen shut. The twine on his father's boot has come loose, and Walter blames Thomas for it, saying that by kicking him, he has managed to ruin his boots. When Walter kicks Thomas again, a hard knot in the loose twine opens another cut on Thomas's brow.

Wolf Hall opens with an incident of senseless and brutal violence, which foreshadows that this is a theme that will run through the novel. Notably, the perpetrator is Thomas Cromwell's father, Walter, who has more power in this relationship than his son, who is still a boy. This shows that when the powerful abuse their power, it can be extremely dangerous for their victims—an idea that the novel repeatedly brings up. Walter's tough leather boot reflects his own hard personality. While Walter has no concern at all for his hurt son, he is concerned about his ruined boot, which highlights Walter's extreme cruelty.

THEMES

Poor Leadership and Violence Theme Icon Children and Human Connection Theme Icon

RELATED QUOTES

Thomas is in so much pain that he feels no pain at all. He tries to crawl away from Walter, who mockingly calls him "an eel." Cromwell hears a dog barking and thinks he will miss his dog, Bella, when he is dead. He thinks he must crawl away from Walter's foot, "Never mind if he calls [Thomas] an eel or a worm or a snake. Head down, don't provoke him." Thomas vomits and then feels the ground shift under him, and he hears someone saying to Walter, "You've done it this time." He exhales and thinks he has breathed his last.

Around noon, Thomas finds himself sitting by the door of the inn run by his sister Kat, who is shocked to see how badly he has been beaten. Kat wishes that "the devil [would] rise up, right now, and take away Walter his servant." Cromwell tries to explain to her that he had gotten up from the yard and come here, and that he can't remember if he'd been lying there since the morning or if he'd been there a whole day. He realizes, "from deep experience of Walter's fists and boots," that it had probably just been this morning since the pain on the second day is always worse.

Kat begins to clean Thomas up gently with some water and a cloth. He wants to put his head in her clean apron but doesn't want to dirty it with his blood. Kat's husband, Morgan Williams, returns from town, and he asks Thomas why he didn't fight back since he could easily "cripple the brute." Kat notes that their father always attacks from behind—she's seen him do it to their mother and their sister Bet, and Kat, too, has been a victim of similar attacks. Thomas wonders if perhaps Walter killed their mother, but then he thinks that, despite Putney's lawlessness, one can't get away with murder here.

Morgan Williams wants to know why Walter beat Thomas up, and Thomas says it was because he'd been fighting the previous evening. Williams says that it makes no sense that Walter would beat up Thomas because Thomas beat up someone else. Williams also cannot fathom how illogical Walter is to "wait a day, then [hit Thomas] with a bottle," and then "[beat] up and down his length with a plank of wood"—the townspeople have filled him in on how exactly Walter attacked Thomas. Kat asks Thomas to live with them, telling Williams that Thomas can "do the heavy work" and "the figures."

After Kat cleans him up, Thomas rests inside for a couple hours, during which time he hears Walter come to the door and argue loudly with Kat and Williams. Thomas thinks that he can no longer stay in Putney now because of Walter. He thinks he will kill Walter if he ever sees him again, and he will then be hanged for it. He also remembers that there was a knife involved in the fight he'd been in the previous day—he has a vague notion that this might lead to more trouble, though he is still too dazed to remember exactly why.

Thomas overhears Kat and Williams talking downstairs. Kat is regretting making the offer to have Thomas live with them because Williams seems nervous that Walter will keep returning as long as Thomas is in their house. Thomas knows that, despite all his bluster, Williams is actually afraid of Walter. When Thomas goes downstairs, he casually tells them he's leaving. Kat insists that he at least stay the night, but Williams offers to give him some money so he can be on his way. Thomas understands that Kat will not speak against her husband because he treats her well and comes from a successful family.

Thomas tells Williams he'll return the money to him after he becomes either a soldier or a ship's boy. He is also worried about leaving his dog, Bella, and wonders if he can take her with him onboard a ship. Williams tells him that he is too large to be a ship's boy, and since he is good at fighting, just like his father, he should be a soldier. Kat sarcastically wonders if this could really be the solution—Thomas was fighting, and his father beat him up for it, and now her husband is telling him to go be a soldier and beat up someone he doesn't know. Williams says he may as well make money from doing it rather than do it for free.

When Thomas gets up to go, Kat says he looks like he is in no state to leave. But Thomas says he knows that Walter will be back soon to find him, as soon as he has a few drinks. Thomas thanks Williams for the money in Welsh, and Williams is astonished that he speaks it—Thomas has picked it up from being around Williams and his family. Williams, too, seems sorry to see Thomas go and promises to feed Bella whenever she comes around.

Thomas makes his way to Dover. He has decided that wars are fought in France, so he is headed there. He knows he has to make the little money he has last a while, so he helps load carts to get free rides. He converses easily with strangers and is gentle with horses—even the nervous ones relax in his presence. Thomas wonders at "how bad people are at loading carts," often trying to squeeze a bulky object through a narrow space when a "simple rotation of the object solves a great many problems."

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Everything you need for every book you read.

Wolf Hall: Part 1: Chapter 1

Summary & Analysis

Power, Ambition, and Deception Theme Icon Poor Leadership and Violence Theme Icon Children and Human Connection Theme Icon Dogmatism vs. Open-Mindedness Theme Icon Myth and Storytelling Theme Icon Themes Key

SummaryAnalysis

Thomas Cromwell has fallen on the cobbles in the courtyard and his father, the blacksmith Walter, kicks him brutally. Walter yells for him to get up, but Thomas is badly hurt and can't. He has a deep gash on his head, his nose is bleeding, and one eye is swollen shut. The twine on his father's boot has come loose, and Walter blames Thomas for it, saying that by kicking him, he has managed to ruin his boots. When Walter kicks Thomas again, a hard knot in the loose twine opens another cut on Thomas's brow.

Wolf Hall opens with an incident of senseless and brutal violence, which foreshadows that this is a theme that will run through the novel. Notably, the perpetrator is Thomas Cromwell's father, Walter, who has more power in this relationship than his son, who is still a boy. This shows that when the powerful abuse their power, it can be extremely dangerous for their victims—an idea that the novel repeatedly brings up. Walter's tough leather boot reflects his own hard personality. While Walter has no concern at all for his hurt son, he is concerned about his ruined boot, which highlights Walter's extreme cruelty.

THEMES

Poor Leadership and Violence Theme Icon Children and Human Connection Theme Icon

RELATED QUOTES

Thomas is in so much pain that he feels no pain at all. He tries to crawl away from Walter, who mockingly calls him "an eel." Cromwell hears a dog barking and thinks he will miss his dog, Bella, when he is dead. He thinks he must crawl away from Walter's foot, "Never mind if he calls [Thomas] an eel or a worm or a snake. Head down, don't provoke him." Thomas vomits and then feels the ground shift under him, and he hears someone saying to Walter, "You've done it this time." He exhales and thinks he has breathed his last.

Despite being in extreme pain and terrified that his father will beat him to death, Thomas Cromwell is remarkably clearheaded and repeatedly tries to escape Walter. This is early evidence of the composed and sharp-thinking courtier that he will grow into. Also, despite his own misery, he spares a thought for his beloved dog, Bella. This highlights the compassionate side of his nature, which balances out his shrewd ambition and makes him a sympathetic character. When Thomas tries to crawl to safety, Walter taunts his helplessness by calling him an eel—the first of many animals that Thomas will be compared to over the course of his rise to power. At the novel's opening, he is a powerless "eel," but he is later as aggressive as a "fighting dog," and then he becomes as dangerous as a "bag of serpents."

THEMES

Poor Leadership and Violence Theme Icon Children and Human Connection Theme Icon

Around noon, Thomas finds himself sitting by the door of the inn run by his sister Kat, who is shocked to see how badly he has been beaten. Kat wishes that "the devil [would] rise up, right now, and take away Walter his servant." Cromwell tries to explain to her that he had gotten up from the yard and come here, and that he can't remember if he'd been lying there since the morning or if he'd been there a whole day. He realizes, "from deep experience of Walter's fists and boots," that it had probably just been this morning since the pain on the second day is always worse.

THEMES

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Kat begins to clean Thomas up gently with some water and a cloth. He wants to put his head in her clean apron but doesn't want to dirty it with his blood. Kat's husband, Morgan Williams, returns from town, and he asks Thomas why he didn't fight back since he could easily "cripple the brute." Kat notes that their father always attacks from behind—she's seen him do it to their mother and their sister Bet, and Kat, too, has been a victim of similar attacks. Thomas wonders if perhaps Walter killed their mother, but then he thinks that, despite Putney's lawlessness, one can't get away with murder here.

THEMES

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Morgan Williams wants to know why Walter beat Thomas up, and Thomas says it was because he'd been fighting the previous evening. Williams says that it makes no sense that Walter would beat up Thomas because Thomas beat up someone else. Williams also cannot fathom how illogical Walter is to "wait a day, then [hit Thomas] with a bottle," and then "[beat] up and down his length with a plank of wood"—the townspeople have filled him in on how exactly Walter attacked Thomas. Kat asks Thomas to live with them, telling Williams that Thomas can "do the heavy work" and "the figures."

THEMES

After Kat cleans him up, Thomas rests inside for a couple hours, during which time he hears Walter come to the door and argue loudly with Kat and Williams. Thomas thinks that he can no longer stay in Putney now because of Walter. He thinks he will kill Walter if he ever sees him again, and he will then be hanged for it. He also remembers that there was a knife involved in the fight he'd been in the previous day—he has a vague notion that this might lead to more trouble, though he is still too dazed to remember exactly why.

THEMES

Thomas overhears Kat and Williams talking downstairs. Kat is regretting making the offer to have Thomas live with them because Williams seems nervous that Walter will keep returning as long as Thomas is in their house. Thomas knows that, despite all his bluster, Williams is actually afraid of Walter. When Thomas goes downstairs, he casually tells them he's leaving. Kat insists that he at least stay the night, but Williams offers to give him some money so he can be on his way. Thomas understands that Kat will not speak against her husband because he treats her well and comes from a successful family.

THEMES

Thomas tells Williams he'll return the money to him after he becomes either a soldier or a ship's boy. He is also worried about leaving his dog, Bella, and wonders if he can take her with him onboard a ship. Williams tells him that he is too large to be a ship's boy, and since he is good at fighting, just like his father, he should be a soldier. Kat sarcastically wonders if this could really be the solution—Thomas was fighting, and his father beat him up for it, and now her husband is telling him to go be a soldier and beat up someone he doesn't know. Williams says he may as well make money from doing it rather than do it for free.

THEMES

When Thomas gets up to go, Kat says he looks like he is in no state to leave. But Thomas says he knows that Walter will be back soon to find him, as soon as he has a few drinks. Thomas thanks Williams for the money in Welsh, and Williams is astonished that he speaks it—Thomas has picked it up from being around Williams and his family. Williams, too, seems sorry to see Thomas go and promises to feed Bella whenever she comes around.

THEMES

Thomas makes his way to Dover. He has decided that wars are fought in France, so he is headed there. He knows he has to make the little money he has last a while, so he helps load carts to get free rides. He converses easily with strangers and is gentle with horses—even the nervous ones relax in his presence. Thomas wonders at "how bad people are at loading carts," often trying to squeeze a bulky object through a narrow space when a "simple rotation of the object solves a great many problems."

THEMES

In Dover, Thomas ends up making some money by watching a man do a three-card trick and figuring out how to do it. People think he is just a boy, so they play it with him, and they all end up losing to him. He spends a little of it on a prostitute since he could never do this at home, where Williams's family was very influential and would gossip about him.

Thomas sees three elderly Lowlanders (a term for people of the Low Countries or the Netherlands) who are being troubled by a customs official because of the bags of wool they are carrying, and Thomas negotiates a bribe on their behalf. In return, they offer him a ride to Calais on their boat. They ask Thomas how old he is and when he says he is 18, they laugh at his answer. He then tries 15, and they accept it, though they know he must be younger.

The Lowlanders ask Thomas how he got his many bruises, and he tells them the truth because he doesn't want them thinking he is a thief who got caught and beaten. The Lowlanders say that "the English are cruel to their children" and Thomas is astonished to think there must be people somewhere who are kind to their children and "the weight in his chest shifts a little; he thinks, there could be other places, better." When they reach Calais, the Lowlanders tell him he will always be welcome to visit them. Thomas bids them farewell and goes off to look for a war.