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The Plot Turns on a Woman Henry VI, Part I, Act V, Scene III In examining the rest of the trilogy and in light of the previous two plays, this particular scene, if removed, would have changed everything. First, the accident that it is Suffolk who captures Margaret is pivotal to the play. If Suffolk had not fallen for her on site, what followed would have changed the entire plot. This scene begins with a conversation between Joan Le Pucelle (Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans) as she is led to prison before her execution. Her capture might have ended the struggle between England and France, but for what followed. Near the end of the conversation, the Earl of Suffolk enters with Margaret as his captive.
From the beginning of their exchange we see that Margaret has little fear of being ravished, and she soon senses that she has the upper hand, even though she is the captive. beauty's princely majesty is such, Confounds the tongue and makes the senses rough. He is obviously totally taken with her beauty. He decides that he cannot let her go, but he is a married man.
We see immediately that Margaret is no fainting maid. She is self assured and dominant. While he is thus tongue-tied, she continues to demand to know her ransom. He decides he will woo her for the king. His comment, Thats a wooden thing. Confuses her and Margaret thinks he may be mad. (I believe from interpreting other places where this term is used that it may mean a thing which looks good from afar, but not so good close up.
That is one meaning I have been able to infer for several sources. ) This comment may mean that he knows it is not as good a plan as he is convincing himself it is. Suffolk rationalizes that she is the daughter of a king, and therefore, a fit match for Henry. He also knows that her father is not a true king at all, but the king of a small city-state (Naples) without any wealth. He says this will not be acceptable to the nobles of the court. However, he decides to proceed.
We see a hint of Margarets ambition with her declaration that to be a queen in bondage is more vile than to be a slave of the lowest sort, because rulers should be free. Suffolk assures her that she will be a free queen if Henry VI is free and proposes she should become Henrys wife. She agrees to consent to the marriage if her father agrees, speaking a chance to bargain with Suffolk. They go to see her father, Reignier, who agrees to give his consent in exchange for Maine and Anjou. Suffolk agrees. Margaret will not only bring with her no dowry, but little influence and she will cost the kingdom the two territories of Maine and Anjou.
As they take their leave Margaret plays with Suffolk, and we see a hint that she will become his mistress. The last speech lets us know that he knows what he is doing is wrong and, perhaps, treasonous, but he rationalizes again and decides he will practice his speech to Henry to bereave him of his wits and get him to agree to the match. This scene is well connected to the past and the future history of the set of plays. Maine and Anjou were hard won by Henry V. The easy surrender of these will not set well with relatives of those whose blood bought these territories. This will set off terrible debates among the nobles, culminating in plots and murders.
Suffolk, himself, will hire the murder of the Kings protector, the Duke of Gloucester, after his wife is arrested for hiring a witch to use against the crown. Gloucester is innocent of any crime, and his murder causes dissension among the court. Suffolk is banished for his murder, and is subsequently killed by pirates. The King was never a strong leader. Marrying him to the ambitious Margaret was not good for the country and it made enemies when he broke his previous engagement with the Earl of Armagnac's daughter, which had been arranged by Gloucester.
We see the beginning of the War of the Roses here when the King is not leader enough to control his nobility, and foolish enough to marry for emotional reasons rather than for political ties. The losses incurred by Henry VI were prophesied, so we actually expect them. What is interesting in this set of plays is all the political intrigue and even the murders by nobility of one another. Even Queen Margaret soils her hands with murder later on. We have in this scene foreshadowing of all that is to follow, and we know that Suffolk knows what he is doing and decides to do it anyway. He is both ambitious and foolish.
Sources Cited: 1 Helen E. Maurer, Margaret of Anjou: Queenship and Power in Late Medieval England (Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, 2003)
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