Ma.

Isabel Higgins JD1

Wolf Hall Reaction Paper
One instance wherein a character from Wolf Hall made an opinion about the legal profession
was the scene wherein Thomas Cromwell returned to his childhood home and had a confrontation
with his father, Walter Cromwell. In this scene, Walter Cromwell’s dialogue is “Lawyer is it? You
were always a talker. A slap in the mouth couldn’t cure it… Law. If it weren’t for the so called law
I’d be a lord. Cromwells had money. We had estates. Thieved off us. By lawyers.” As clearly stated
in Walter Cromwell’s dialogue, his opinion about lawyers is that they are the kind of people who are
verbose and corrupt by nature. He considers them as thieves who are capable of deceiving people
through their convincing yet fraudulent words. Another scene in which a character made an opinion
about the legal profession was when Thomas Cromwell went to Queen Katherine and Princess Mary
as ordered by the King. Queen Katherine introduced Thomas Cromwell to Princess Mary by stating
that, “This is Master Cromwell. He used to be a money-lender. Now he writes all the laws.” The
understanding of Queen Katherine as to what a lawyer does is that he basically writes the law which
is to be approved by the King and to be applied by the people.
During Cromwell’s time, these opinions remain valid and true. There wasn’t much laws passed
during this era and most of the laws were ordered by the King. Because of this, the King was given
great importance and a lot of people tried to get in the close circle of the King so that they would be
given wealth and power in the society. Since the King’s trusted advisors and close friends are mostly
lawyers, they have the power to amass vast lands and great amount of wealth. This is in relation to
how Cromwell’s father depicts lawyers as land grabbers and cunning thieves. Well of course, such
stereotyping does not apply to all. There are also others who remain dignified through their good
deeds and principles. On the other hand, in relation to the opinion of Queen Katherine as to what
lawyers are during that era, it is true that Cromwell was writing laws even if he is a lawyer whose duty
was to interpret laws rather than making them but since he is part of parliamentary, they were tasked
to pass laws to be approved by the King. Moreover, there is a sarcastic side as to how the queen
depicted Cromwell as a commoner who suddenly rose to position because of his profession.
The opinions of the characters in the series however, does not apply to the current times. It is
because lawyers are limited as to their powers in acquiring real and personal property. This is mostly
the case for judges of the court wherein they cannot acquire property that is the subject of litigation.
Due process must first be undergone before they can obtain such property. Nowadays, lawyers in
general, are highly respected because of the nobility of their profession and the principles that are
continuously being upheld. However, it cannot be denied that there are still others that defame such
respectable image. The duty of a lawyer in our country is not to write or pass laws since that is the
duty of the legislative. In some circumstances however, a lawyer may also join the legislative (as a
member of the Congress) which would allow him the capacity to pass laws. But basically, the main
objective of lawyers are to interpret the laws and to acquire fundamental knowledge in learning the
intent of the lawmakers so that they may clearly apply these laws in certain cases.
Indeed, Wolf Hall has highlighted a lot of insights regarding the legal profession but in my
opinion, what makes a good lawyer is not because of his current standing in society or his intelligent
mind rather it is the reasonableness of the principle which he stands by and valiantly defends with all
his honor and dignity.