The Pillars of the Earth

It is from Tom’s perspective that we first see the world of 12th Century England at the start of the Anarchy. From this perspective, it is difficult to be a common person under feudal rule, particularly when the feudal system is in collapse. Within the first chapter, Tom loses no less than three jobs. When he loses his wife Agnes in childbirth, in the bitter cold, and must abandon the child for lack of food, we are meant to view it as the complete nadir of human existence, one which only systematic and global change would suffice to answer. This change is represented in a small way by Tom’s ingenuity and by Philip’s sensible thrift and willingness to take a chance on a man who will “make something beautiful for God” (298). This change is represented in a larger way by the resolution of the English civil war at the end of the book.

Aliena undergoes one of the worst imaginable violations when William rapes her in front of her brother and dispossesses her family of its lands. It is the poor, like Tom and his family, who suffer most under the chaos of the English civil war, but Follett wants to make sure we understand the turmoil at the heart of royal life as well. Like Tom and Philip, Aliena’s defense against violation and anarchy is her business savvy and her even temperament. It is her wool business that brings Richard out of fear and poverty and that makes him eligible later to take back his earldom. Later, it is her global understanding of interconnected market forces that make her a much fitter ruler of Shiring than Richard could have ever been.

Tom, Philip, and Aliena represent the steady rise of egalitarian ideals, scientific reason, hard work, and market-based solutions to political turmoil. Jack represents something slightly similar. He embodies all these traits, not as a steady and hard-headed leader, but as the romantic ideal of a misunderstood genius. In Jack, hard work becomes obsession, and reason becomes ingenuity. It is only through the protection and indulgence of people like Philip and Aliena that people like Jack can thrive and benefit others. Follett reminds us that people like Jack could just as likely be brutalized and shoved aside by mediocrities like William and Alfred, and that the care and protection of genius is delicate. In attempting to corral Jack into monastic service, he very nearly commits the same sin as Alfred.

Jack’s volatile nature is dangerous, too. Follett walks a very fine line when he frames Jack’s burning of the church in order to please Tom as a form of creative destruction, but then frames William’s burning of the town as an act of senseless violence. Only the vague notion of intention separates the two.

William cannot be mistaken for anything but a villain in the world Follett creates. He is motivated by the will to physical power, and by his jealousy and hatred. He rapes and kills at will, often for no chance of gain, but simply for thrill. At the same time, William is cowardly and superstitious, fearing for the state of his soul and for that of his family’s. This makes him unusually susceptible to Walerian’s control. Under William’s watch, the lands surrounding Shiring go unkempt and fallow, and his reign is defined by cruelty and hunger. His influence is purely demonstrative of the worst political influences of his time.

Walerian represents Prior Philip’s darker half. He wears fine clothes while Philip contents himself with homespun cloth. His personality is governed by personal spite and anger, just as Philip is motivated by compassion. Most tellingly, Walerian condones and forgives William’s actions as a means to an end. Nevertheless, Philip would be in no position whatsoever without Walerian’s early help and political instruction; even after the two men fall out, Philip continues to use the political wiles he learned from Walerian to best his foes. In the end, both men want the same thing—to wield enough power to build their respective buildings. His reverence for God goes unquestioned by anyone in the book, and by the end, he submits to Philip’s better judgement (and political position).