More’s unwillingness to talk about his meeting with the
cardinal foreshadows his later refusal to discuss his opinions about
the Act of Supremacy. Though Alice understands in this instance
not to press the matter, she eventually takes offense at not being
allowed into her husband’s confidence. Again, More places more weight
on the practical considerations of the matter than on even his love
and respect for his family. Not wanting to implicate them in his
affairs, he leaves them out of them, remaining a conscientious yet
solitary man.
Alice foreshadows Wolsey’s death when she comments about how
colds affect great and common men alike. Wolsey soon dies, and his
death seems an implicit affirmation of Alice’s statement.
