Suffolk: Ambition Through Margaret
First appears: Act 5, Scene 3
Suffolk captures Margaret of Anjou in Act 5 and immediately falls in love with her. He is already married. His solution is to arrange her marriage to Henry VI, which gives him access to her at court without the inconvenience of her being his own wife.
His closing soliloquy at the end of Part I makes his calculation explicit. He will rule through Margaret, and Margaret will rule the king. It is a plan that works better than it should.
He is charming, self-serving, and entirely clear about what he is doing. His frank cynicism about love and power is one of Shakespeare's earliest explorations of manipulation through sexual attraction.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“An earl I am, and Suffolk am I call'd. Be not offended, nature's miracle, Thou art allotted to be ta'en by me.”
Earl of Suffolk — Act 5, Scene 3
“Margaret shall now be queen, and rule the king; But I will rule both her, the king and realm.”
Earl of Suffolk — Act 5, Scene 5
Themes
Other Characters in Henry VI, Part I
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