Character analysis
William the Conqueror
in Common Sense by Thomas Paine
William the Conqueror is portrayed in Common Sense not as a vibrant character but as a historical symbol that Thomas Paine uses to challenge the very basis of hereditary monarchy. Paine presents William as the root of the English crown's legitimacy and quickly transforms this idea into a powerful critique. He refers to William as a "French bastard" who invaded England with a band of armed men, establishing kingship through sheer force rather than divine right or the will of the people. This moment of historical analysis is crucial to Paine's argument: if England's first king was just a successful warlord, then the whole monarchy is built on violence and usurpation, rather than any sacred or rational foundation.
In the pamphlet, William serves a strictly rhetorical and symbolic purpose. He is Exhibit A in Paine's argument that hereditary rule is nonsensical—a legacy of inherited tyranny stretching from an illegitimate conqueror to George III. By stripping away any romantic or divine embellishments from William, Paine compels readers to view monarchy as a human-constructed, historically specific, and morally flawed system. William's journey, if it can be called that, shifts from a feared conqueror to a source of embarrassment: as Paine traces the lineage forward, the claim of royal legitimacy becomes increasingly absurd. The key attribute Paine assigns to William is brute force disguised as rightful authority—the original sin of English governance that Paine contends the American colonists now have a chance to reject completely.
Connected characters
- Thomas Paine
Paine weaponizes William as his primary historical evidence against monarchy, citing him by name to argue that English kingship was founded on conquest and fraud rather than legitimate authority. William is Paine's rhetorical tool, not his adversary.
- King George III
William is the originating link in the chain of hereditary succession that ends with George III. By delegitimizing William, Paine delegitimizes every monarch who followed, George III included, exposing the entire lineage as inherited tyranny.
- The King of England (Monarchy as Institution)
William is the institutional monarchy's founding moment. Paine argues that because the institution began with violent usurpation under William, the monarchy as an ongoing institution carries that original corruption in its very DNA.
- The American Colonists
William's story is offered to the colonists as liberating knowledge: understanding that their king descends from a mere conqueror removes any moral obligation to obey the Crown and strengthens the case for independence.
- The British Parliament
William's conquest precedes and overshadows Parliament; Paine uses his example to show that English governmental authority has always been rooted in force rather than in the consent of the governed that Parliament nominally claims to represent.