Shadows of the Past: Memory and the Shaping of History in Wolf Hall

Abstract

The article discusses the interaction between memory and historiography in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, examining how the novel reconstructs Tudor history using the subjective memory of Thomas Cromwell. During the English Reformation, Wolf Hall questions the veracity of historical accounts, highlighting the fluidity of memory in constructing personal and collective identity. Qualitative analysis via close reading and thematic interpretation is utilized, in addition to quantitative methods to monitor the repetition of central motifs of memory and historical manipulation. The research indicates that Mantel presents history as a constructed narrative and not an objective fact, illustrating how power and individual recollections shape recorded history. Wolf Hall is a space where memory, fiction, and historical record meet to challenge the authenticity of traditional historiography. Thus, the article underscores the idea how historical fiction reconstructs the popular view of history and how the influence of memory on historiography shapes modern interpretations of history.