Death of the Fox: Analysis of Major Characters
"Death of the Fox: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics surrounding key figures in the tumultuous era of late Elizabethan and early Jacobean England. Central to the narrative is Sir Walter Ralegh, a multifaceted character who, as a former soldier, explorer, and courtier, navigates a world rife with ambition and treachery. Now an aging man facing execution due to a politically motivated charge, Ralegh reflects on his life and legacy, revealing both his pride and philosophical depth as he confronts his fate.
King James I, a complex monarch, is depicted with a mix of humor and self-righteousness, showcasing his struggles to maintain authority and peace while dealing with the fallout from Ralegh's failed expedition to Guiana. His decision to execute Ralegh reflects a desire to pacify political tensions, yet also signals a departure from the Elizabethan ideals that Ralegh embodies.
Elizabeth Tudor, Ralegh's former queen, serves as a poignant figure in Ralegh's memories, symbolizing an era of strength and unity that contrasts sharply with the challenges of James's reign. Through the lens of these characters, the analysis delves into themes of loyalty, ambition, and the shifting sands of power, providing a rich context for understanding the interplay of personal and political motives during a pivotal moment in British history.
Death of the Fox: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: George Garrett
First published: 1971
Genre: Novel
Locale: The British Isles, continental Europe, and various oceans
Plot: Historical
Time: The English Renaissance, from the last days of the reign of Henry VIII to the end of the reign of James I
SirWalterRalegh, captain of the guard under Queen Elizabeth and a leading Elizabethan courtier. Ralegh has been a soldier, seafarer, explorer, and counselor to the queen as well as an amateur scientist and engineer, antiquarian, historian, and poet. Known to enemies and friends as the Fox for his shrewd pursuit of public and personal ambitions, Ralegh is now an old man under suspended sentence of death for leading a pro-Spanish plot against King James I fifteen years earlier, in 1603. He is innocent of that charge. Although Ralegh had been proud, headstrong, and lusty as a young man, his years in prison have deepened his meditative and philosophical nature; he reflects on his life as he awaits sentencing and then execution on Lord Mayor's Day, October 29, 1618. Reared to eminence and great wealth under Elizabeth, Ralegh was banished from court in 1592 after his affair with Elizabeth Throckmorton, later his beloved wife Bess. He discovered Guiana for England in 1595, however, and was the old queen's most loyal courtier in her declining years. He was brought to trial by King James shortly after the latter's succession in 1603, and his self-defense at Winchester confounded the king's own lawyers. Imprisoned thereafter in the Tower of London, he was released in 1617. His subsequent disastrous expedition to Guiana, which resulted in an unsuccessful attack on a Spanish stronghold and the death of his son, led to his reimprisonment by the king. He is unjustly sentenced to execution at Westminster by Henry Yelverton, James's attorney general. He is visited by his wife Bess and a scholar friend, Thomas Hariot, on the last night of his life, and is examined spiritually in the morning and justified by Robert Tounson, dean of Westminster. Ralegh defends himself publicly before the crowd gathered for his public beheading, affirming his loyalty to King James as well as to the deceased Elizabeth, going to his death freely, nobly, and courageously.
James Stuart, the king of England and of Scotland. Physically unattractive but possessed of a powerful if pedantic intellect, the king is a complex blend of virtues and vices: humorous and festive yet somewhat degraded in his personal behavior; tenacious and shrewd in pursuing his policies yet self-righteous and arbitrary; and fatherly toward his subjects, friends, and family, yet vengeful and petulant toward those who oppose him. Uncomfortable among the masses in London and almost pathologically fearful of assassination, the king has begun to find the burdens of the crown wearying and frustrating and prefers the companionship of his favorite, George Villiers (“Steenie”), and the pleasures of hunting and extravagant court entertainments. When his chief policy goals (keeping England at peace and arranging a dynastic marriage with England's old enemy, Spain) are frustrated by Ralegh's Guiana expedition, he has the old Elizabethan courtier executed, against the advice of his dying queen. He leaves the affair to his Lord Chancellor, Francis Bacon, and the London civic authorities while he takes a holiday at his estate at Theobalds and the royal lodge at Royston. By disposing of the troublesome Ralegh, James hopes to regain his influence with Spain's ambassador, Count Gondomar, but he also destroys the last living embodiment of the Elizabethan regime.
Elizabeth Tudor, the queen of England, James's predecessor as monarch. She was the greatest of the Tudor monarchs and Ralegh's much-beloved and admired sovereign. Moderately attractive, gifted intellectually and artistically, and supremely skillful in choosing and using ambitious and talented subordinates to carry out her policies, she sacrificed personal happiness for the welfare of the nation that she loved beyond any individual. The success of her reign, which began in crisis and instability, rested on her ability to acquire and maintain the trust and admiration of all of her people; this success was furthered by the use of open public spectacles financed by her wealthier subjects. She made herself the embodiment of her nation both before and after the climactic defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, and as Ralegh relives that earlier age in his imagination, it seems a splendid dream. Although her final years were marked by economic and social difficulties in England and a hardening of her personality and her policies, they were eased by Ralegh's loyal and assiduous service during the rebellion by the Earl of Essex in 1601, the final crisis of the regime.