Discussion: Haveing a crush on Sir Thomas More

"Ever since watching the Tudors, I find I have a huge crush on the REAL Thomas More. I just read the Autobiography of Henry VIII and the Thomas More in the book (coupled with how I picture him, Jeremy Northam) has given me a huge crush on him. It's odd, I've never been smitten with someone that's hundreds of years older than I."

"Happens to me all the time. I have been a lifelong reader. I fell in love with Mr. Darcy of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" when I first read it at age 13 (long before Colin Firth). I fell in love with Paul Scofield as Thomas More in "A Man for All Seasons" (watch his affection for his beloved daughter, Margaret and his indomitable wife, Alice - who were sometimes in conflict-) I had a crush on Ciaran Hinds as Sir Brian de Bois Gilbert in the A&E production of "Ivanhoe". I thought the character was much more interesting than the character of Ivanhoe as indeed, I thought the character of Rebecca was much more interesting than the insipid Rowena. I loved the character of Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights" whose looks I could only imagine until the 1972 version of the movie in which Timothy Dalton played Heathcliff and was exactly how I magined Heathcliff to look, except that he night have been a little more sturdy looking. And, I have been in love with the 18th-dynasty pharoah, Akhenaten ever since I read about him in grade school. "

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Yeah, I'm a sucker for Mr. Rochester too, even though my inner feminist recoils at some of his behavior...like locking up his wife in an attic for years?"

"Have you read the novel by Naguib Mahfouz, "Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth"? I haven't read it yet but it looks very interesting and it's been recommended to be several times.
Yeah, I'm a sucker for Mr. Rochester too, even though my inner feminist recoils at some of his behavior...like locking up his wife in an attic for years?"

"I also LOVE Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre! (Toby Stephens & Orson Welles)

I could watch BBC movies forever. I'm just having a hard time finding new ones."

"That's okay, I don't find having a crush on More wierder than a friend of mine who had a crush on Abe Lincoln (I seriously don't find him attractive at all!)."

"How do you feel about More's having burned six Lutherans during his chancellorship of England, Scarlett? On other threads, we've discussed the unlikelihood of his being canonized in today's political climate given that fact.
It has also been mentioned that a campaign to canonize Isabella of Spain fell through 20 years ago because Jewish and Islamic groups objected due to her having executed members of their faiths during the Inquisition."

"Thanks, I wasn't really thinking along those line.

But I do have to say, that I think if Sir Thomas More were alive today instead of back then his actions may have been different. He seemed very ahead of the times in his thinking but he still lived in a time when what he did was part of the norm. Not that I condone it at all, but like I said different time. I myself am Lutheran and I still think he was a great man, despite his faults.

Plus, Jeremy Northam is hawt."

" I agree with you both, Scarlett and LN. Hopefully the BAFTAS SAGs, Golden Globes and people's Choice Awards will be more generous to both him and Natalie Dormer."

"I don't think that's what Scarlett was getting at that, she's describing an historic character who she has a "crush" on and enjoys reading and watching additional adaptations of his life in film. That's different from previous discussion we've had one weather or not Thomas More is "most honorable" or most pious or whatever (she hasn't once said something in that respect). For some reasons I can't describe I have a crush on Rochester from Jane Eyre, but if you read the book you'll know he's not a nice man at all! Thomas More, may be attractive to some because of his proximity to power, his intellegence, his love for his family, his humanist lifestyle, his mannerisms and personality - all are characteristics in men any woman would find attractive. In my opinion Thomas More isn't my hero although he had several admirable qualities. I don't think his memory should be whitewashed over his fanaticism against Protestantism but I do think he deserves to be studied and admired for his positive qualities. "