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What does "live in a tower" mean?

English Language Learners Asked on November 19, 2021

In Braveheart (1995), Queen Isabella meets prisoner William Wallace:

Queen Isabella: Sir, I come to beg you to confess all and swear
allegiance to the king that he might show you mercy.

William Wallace: Will he show mercy to my country?

Queen Isabella: Mercy is to die quickly, perhaps even live in a tower.

What does "live in a tower" mean?

I know what live in an/(one’s) ivory tower means but this one look
different.

One Answer

I think she means that he might live imprisoned in a tower for life, as an alternative to dying quickly.

It might be a reference to The Tower of London, a famous prison, where Queen Isabella had someone imprisoned:

Wikipedia Tower of London
"...became the first woman imprisoned in the Tower of London after she refused Queen Isabella admittance to Leeds Castle...".

Answered by Jack O'Flaherty on November 19, 2021

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