A Man For All Seasons

A Man for All Seasons is set during a deeply turbulent time in English history. Over the course of relatively few years, Thomas More saw his country make a dramatic shift from Catholicism to Protestantism. The theological differences between Catholics and Protestants at this time were not especially large, but they had vast implications for England’s government structure. Before the Reformation, More’s Catholic conception of government was validated. In his view, power flowed from God to the king via the Pope. Even if the Pope was corrupt, he was still an essential part of the existing power structure. More structured his life around his staunch Catholicism, and he was unwilling to alter his beliefs even when the personal and political consequences for doing so became extreme.

When England became officially Protestant, the dynamic of power shifted. Catholicism became heretical, which was particularly ironic for More, who had spent much of his career persecuting Protestants for heresy. Protestants had several main grievances against the Catholic Church, including the number of sacraments, the role of the Pope, and the practice of selling indulgences. More is the most pious character in A Man for All Seasons, and there are no characters who clearly and rationally describe the Protestant viewpoint from a religious lens.