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Personae Non Gratae and Exiles; Unfolding the Lives of Henry Constable and Mary Magdalen by Heather C. Milligan |
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The life and work of Henry Constable can be characterized by a single word: conflict. Conflicting loyalties, emotions, and beliefs surface continually throughout the poet’s work, as well as throughout accounts of his life. In accordance with this prevailing motif, Constable’s biographer, Joan Grundy, suggests that Constable’s life “could truthfully be described as his ‘best piece of poetrie’” (Grundy 16). The sixteenth-century was a time of great conflict in England, particularly for those faithful to the Roman Catholic Church (Sheils 60). The rise of the Church of England and Martin Luther’s call to reform forced English Catholics to make a highly politicized choice between religion and the Crown (Freiday 3). For Constable, who was engaged in an internal battle with faith of his own, this choice was deeply personal; however, during the twenty-first year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, Constable made a decision. At twenty-seven years of age, Constable renounced the emerging Church of England and converted to Catholicism (Grundy 34). Unfortunately, the resolution of Constable’s internal struggle only invited an entire new realm of conflict into the poet’s life. As an English Roman Catholic convert living under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, external conflict would plague the second half of Constable’s life. Consequently, given the poet’s unquiet life, his choice of subject for nearly one quarter of the Spiritual Sonnets does not come as a surprise. Constable dedicated four of the seventeen Spiritual Sonnets to Saint Mary Magdalen, one the most conflictive saints of the Roman Catholic Church (www.magdalene.org). In the first of the quartet dedicated to the Saint, by drawing on a popular French tradition of the sixteenth-century, Constable identifies Magdalen as the repentant sinner who renounced her former life to follow Christ. Similar to Constable, Magdalen’s decision meant that she would have to cope with both internal and external conflict throughout her earthly life. Thus, Magdalen provides both an ideal “model for him [Constable] to follow”, as well as an ideal vehicle through which to explore and to negotiate his own choices (Silva 38). Finally, by juxtaposing Magdalen’s corporeal suffering with her immortal salvation, Constable illustrates Magdalen’s capacity to serve as an inspiration to all those facing religious persecution. It is important to note that Constable’s biographer believes that the poet’s conversion reflects his sincere beliefs concerning matters of faith (Grundy 33). Constable’s prosaic writing addressing questions faith strengthens Grundy’s argument as this writing suggests that the poet devoted much time to spiritual thought. For example, in the theological essay, The Catholic Moderator, Constable writes, “…the end which we seeke for, is the Truth. Which if wee haue found, why looke we further? But if we beleeue without searching, we may very well be deceiued” (Grundy 33). In these lines, Constable argues that every individual searches for a creed that he or she knows as “the Truth”. In terms of religion and spirituality, “the Truth” is the system of belief one subscribes to on the basis of faith, without demanding proof or evidence. While Constable understands the importance of knowing without seeing, he nonetheless stresses the importance of an educated faith. Constable cautions against blindly adhering to a given ontological system before exploring the “Truths” offered by other belief systems. The poet argues that by simply adhering to one religious doctrine on the basis of ignorance towards other doctrines, one risks being “deceiued” by a lack of education. Essentially, Constable questions the integrity of a devotee’s faith who is not even vaguely aware of the diverse “Truths” of other religions. Clearly, Constable’s prose strongly suggests genuine beliefs; yet the proof of the poet’s sincere beliefs is not limited to his prosaic work. In an article comparing Constable’s spiritual and secular poetry, J. de Oliveira e Silva illustrates the truthfulness of the poet’s religious fervour by drawing on the disparity between the poet’s earlier and later poetic endeavors. After concluding that Constable’s secular poetry is “ornamental, impersonal … [and] artificial” at best, Silva goes on to praise Constable’s post-conversion style (Silva 35). The contrast between the secular sonnets’ amateur superficiality and the simple truthfulness and “aesthetic quality” of the Spiritual Sonnets is such that “there has been some lingering question as to Constable’s authorship of both” (Ibid 33). In order to appreciate the degree of conflict Constable contended with, it is crucial to recognize the candor of Constable’s faith; since fundamentally, the poet’s integrity towards his Catholic beliefs accounts for the majority of his suffering and his anxiety. Needless to say, it is in one’s best interest to keep the conflict motif in mind when studying Constable’s poetry, and the ninth spiritual sonnet, “To St Mary Magdalen”, provides an excellent opportunity to explore this concept. In this sonnet, the speaker attempts to gain greater perspective on the path his own life might take by analyzing the history of the biblical figure, Mary Magdalen. Similar to Constable, Magdalen faced profound conflict throughout her life and suffered greatly for her desires and beliefs. Given these similarities, Constable’s interest in Magdalen’s history further suggests the magnitude of the role conflict played in the poet’s life. Throughout his life, Constable struggled with disparate desires and values in nearly every sphere of life. From the private to the public, the secular to the spiritual, the political to the religious, it seems Constable confronted conflict at every turn, much like Saint Mary Magdalen. Firstly, the lives of Magdalen and Constable mirror each other in that spiritual rectitude prompted each to make personal decisions producing permanent changes in their respective lives. As previously discussed, Constable became a Catholic convert during one of the most religiously contentious periods in English history (www.wwnorton.com). Essentially, the prevalence of religious tension and dissent in sixteenth-century England was such that “the greatest insurrection of the Tudor age was not over food, taxation, or land but over religion” (Ibid). Because of his decision, Constable’s life became a series of conflicting desires and loyalties that would burden him until his death as an exile in 1613. Magdalen’s life took a similarly drastic midlife turn that would alter the course of her remaining years. According to Catholic theology in the sixteenth-century, Magdalen was a prostitute who became a follower of Christ after repenting for her sins (Grundy 252). Furthermore, during Constable’s life in late sixteenth-century France, tradition held that following Christ’s ascension, Magdalen withdrew to a Provençal hill by the name of "La Sainte-Baume" to repent for thirty years. The speaker’s summary of the saint’s disreputable past in the sonnet’s opening lines indicates that Constable was not hesitant to address the sixteenth-century belief that Magdalen was a sinner; “For few nights' solace in delicious bed/Where heat of lust did kindle flames of hell” (ll. 1-2). The imagery of fire and passion suggest that the author of this poem was quite comfortable with the notion of Magdalen as prostitute. In lines three and four, the speaker goes on to reveal the poet’s adherence to the Provençal tradition by alluding to the thirty years of penance Magdalen was believed to have paid; “Thou nak’d on naked rock in desert cell/Lay thirty years, and tears of grief did shed”. Furthermore, Constable’s reference to Magdalen’s “tears of grief” is suggestive of the Sacrament of Penance in the Catholic Church in which “grief for sin” serves as a central component (Hanna). Consequently, in these two lines Magdalen develops into a fitting paradigm of the earthly suffering one may face for remaining constant to one’s faith. Essentially, with twenty words Constable successfully merges a contemporary Catholic tradition of the sixteenth-century with a central tenet of Roman Catholicism, effectively broadening the scope of Magdalen’s relevancy. Therefore, Magdalen becomes both a figure with who Catholics of highly varying theological knowledge could identity as well as a figure from who they could draw strength. If the first four lines of the sonnet acknowledge the extent of Magdalen’s mortal suffering, the second half of the octave celebrates the eternal rapture Magdalen achieved through her spiritual conversion and subsequent repentance. As Grundy mentions in a note on the ninth spiritual sonnet, Mary Magdalen was a popular “symbol both of repentance and of ecstasy” for the Counter-Reformation (Grundy 252). To understand the enabling potential of Magdalen as a symbol, it will be helpful to address the second component of Grundy’s assessment as expressed by the poet; But for that time thy heart there sorrowed Thou now in heaven eternally dost dwell, And for each tear which from thine eyes then fell, A sea of pleasure now is rendered. ll. 5-8 Using comparative language, a favourite technique of the poet, Constable compares Magdalen’s “thirty years” in the “desert cell” to her eternal dwelling in heaven (Grundy 16). Moreover, Constable places the “tears” Magdalen shed during her time at La Sainte-Baume in contrast with the “sea of pleasure” to which she gained eternal admission. Essentially, by pairing the “tears of grief” Magdalen shed over thirty years with the timeless “sea of pleasure”, Constable ends the comparison by focusing on the vastness of Magdalen’s everlasting joy rather than giving priority to the saint’s thirty years of corporeal suffering. Consequently, Magdalen quickly becomes a symbol of strength in which persecuted Catholics could find comfort. Finally, by prioritizing Magdalen’s immortal joy over her secular suffering, not only does this sonnet portray Magdalen as a figure of earthly devotion, but it also portrays the saint as an inspirational figure who achieved empyreal bliss by adhering to her faith. As an English Catholic convert in 1589, Constable’s attraction to Magdalen as a source of strength comes as no surprise. Constable and Magdalen’s histories correspond beyond the levels of internal spiritual conflict and external suffering; essentially, both Constable and Magdalen became exiles because of their religious integrity. According to the Provençal legend employed by Constable in spiritual sonnet nine, after Christ’s ascension, Magdalen adopted a repentant life of seclusion in order to atone for her sins. Therefore, Magdalen’s self-imposed exile was directly linked to her spiritual conversion; fundamentally, Magdalen retreated to pay penance for her life prior to becoming a follower of Christ. While Constable’s exile was not a result of pre-conversion sins, it nevertheless resulted from his spiritual conversion. Constable remained in England for one year after deciding that his beliefs were consistent with the Roman Catholic “Truth” (Grundy 34). However, near the one year anniversary of his conversion, Constable traveled abroad, eventually taking up residence in Paris (DNB 959). While the reasons behind Constable’s initial decision to expatriate remain matters of speculation, he expressed his reasons for remaining abroad the year of his formal induction into the Catholic Church. After receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, Constable wrote to the Countess of Shrewsbury, explaining that he would live abroad, “contented with how little soever I shall have” so long as he could be “in whose company I can be when I will” (Grundy 35, Shell 125). Evidently, Constable’s decision to remain in France reflected the poet’s need to be able to freely follow his faith and to be able to remain true the spiritual path he had chosen. Clearly, Constable’s decision to convert was not going to be swayed by exterior forces. The poet’s letter to the Countess of Shrewsbury reveals his willingness to remain abroad should he be unable to practice Catholicism in England. However, interpreting Constable’s spiritual conversion as a reflection of his sentiments vis-ŕ-vis the Crown would be a false and an unfair assumption. As Allison Shell remarks in her study of Catholicism in Reformation literature, Constable’s “loyalties were divided between the Catholic religion and the demands of the Crown” (135). Scholarly analyses of Constable’s life and of his poetry continually mention the poet’s conflicting loyalties regarding “patriotism and religion” (Grundy 16). John Bossy, professor emeritus at York University, habitually draws on the poet’s internal anxiety with respect to religion and the Crown when analyzing the poet’s work. Bossy argues that Constable did not always side with religion when the welfare of his homeland was at stake, citing Constable’s fidelity to the Crown during the Spanish Armada as an example the poet’s conflicted loyalties (Bossy 43). Shell confirms Bossy’s argument with a letter Constable wrote to the Earl of Essex shortly after the Armada, only months before his official conversion; “Though I am passionately affectionated to my Religio[n], yet I am not in the number of those w[hi]ch wish th[e] restitution thereof w[i]t[h] the servitude of my country to a forrein Tyranny” (Shell 264). In this letter Constable essentially declares his devotion to Catholicism and at the same time explains that he would not support the reinstatement of the Roman Catholic Church if such an event were to take place as a result of a Spanish victory. The disparity between Constable’s patriotic and religious loyalties introduces still another conflict in the poet’s unquiet life. While Constable’s first expatriation appears to have been a matter of free will, as time progressed, it seems the choice was no longer Constable’s. Certainly, the poet’s words to the Countess of Shrewsbury in 1591 suggest that Constable was prepared to accept the repercussions of his conversion. The letter indicates Constable’s preparedness to remain abroad should he be unable to return to England as a practicing Catholic. However, a decade later, the poet’s initial enthusiasm regarding a Parisian life seems to have waned. In 1603, frustrated by fruitless efforts to secure legal permission to repatriate, Constable returned to England (DNB 959). The poet was promptly escorted to the Tower where he remained until November of 1604, at which time he was released after pledging loyalty to the Crown (Ibid). The following six years of Constable’s life truly tested the integrity and strength of his religious beliefs. Deprived of his inheritance, the poet struggled with poverty in the face of constant religious persecution and spent time in both the Tower and the Fleet (Grundy 49). Finally, less than a decade after his homecoming, Constable was forced to leave England permanently, and died abroad three years later (Ibid 50). Fundamentally, the biographical information Grundy’s provides suggests that Constable’s internal strife was not limited to matters of religion; rather, Constable’s voluntary six year persecution reveals a strong longing for his motherland. Evidently, the poet was deeply conflicted by the choice to suffer greatly in England, or to live in peace as an alien. Essentially, as a Roman Catholic convert in Elizabethan England, not only did Constable find himself caught between religion and State, he also found himself caught between expatriation and incarceration. Therefore, while Constable certainly portrays Magdalen as an exemplary figure of strength for all those facing religious persecution, it is also highly probable that the poet personally drew strength from the self-imposed exile Magdalen survived before reaching a state of eternal joy and comfort. Clearly, the parallels between the lives of Constable and Magdalen are such that the poet’s tendency to use the saint as subject of his sonnets is quite logical. Both poet and saint found that they were faced with a life of constant internal and external anxiety as a result of their respective devotion concerning matters of faith. In nearly one quarter of the Spiritual Sonnets, Constable draws on the history of Mary Magdalen to illustrate that while adhering to one’s faith can demand all of one’s strength at times, such integrity will be rewarded in the next life. While Constable’s portrait of Magdalen may simply seem to be a portrait of one who successfully passed through the Augustinian veil of tears, the similarities between their lives suggest that Constable’s affinity towards the saint was of a more personal nature. Certainly, Constable’s ninth spiritual sonnet depicts Magdalen as an inspirational figure for all individuals facing religious persecution; however, this sonnet also tells the story of a woman whose life mirrors that of the poet. Therefore it is possible that when Constable wrote this sonnet he was thinking not only of his fellow Roman Catholics, but also of himself, an exile suffering for adhering to what he so adamantly believed to be “the Truth”. |
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Henry Constable (1562-1613) |
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created by Heather C. Milligan |