Power
The main theme of the book is that ‘power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ Cromwell belonged to a lower background, but he was ascended to power. He became the chief minister of King Henry VIII and later he became a member of privy council. Despite of understanding the problems of lower classes, he did not make him beneficial for the lower classes. Instead, he put his sole focus on manipulating others. He became drunk with power and eliminated the queen, Anne Boleyn, from king’s life. He manipulated the aristocrats for achieving his means and later executed them as well. He just forgot that he was not born as a king and started comparing himself with the king. He started thinking that the king would follow his orders but that was not the case.
Consequences of Actions
The consequences of one’s actions is another resonating theme in the book. The idiom ‘What you sow, so shall you reap’, rightly depicts the end of Cromwell. In his obsession with power, Cromwell manipulated the people around him. He used them for his own purposes and after achieving his aims, he deceived them. The aristocrats helped him in assassinating the second queen, but he started removing the aristocratic families from power. He did not help anyone, so he was entangled in a vicious cycle of allegations by the people. Although he pleaded for justifications, but no one helped him. He used to become happy at the death of his opponents, so his enemies became happy at his death as well.
Greed
Another theme of the book is that the greed and lust for power never fulfills. As a man ascends towards heights, he becomes more treacherous and manipulative and consequently, his greediness brings about his downfall. The very power which makes Cromwell proud and safe brings his destruction. If he would not yield that much power, he would not be killed with such brutality. He was beheaded because of mere allegation from his opponents. He was murdered for the crimes that he did not commit. Although he wiped out the influential families from power just because he wanted to gain more power, but he did not want to marry the daughter of King Henry.
