What I find interesting in the play Richard III by William Shakespeare is the female image that Mr. Shakespeare portrays. Through the dialogues of all five of the female characters in this play: the Duchess of York, Lady Anne, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Margaret, and Clarence’s daughter, Shakespeare depicts these ladies as aggressive and irrational individuals.
For example, Lady Anne is introduced to the audience by cursing Richard, his future wife and unborn child in her long winded speech which starts with, “Cursed be the hand that made these holes” (Shakespeare 12). Shakespeare reveals Lady Anne’s character to be irrational as he ends this scene with a change of heart. After Richard admits to killing Lady Anne’s husband he seduces her and she decides to take his ring. This rapid change of heart is ridiculously unreasonable even if Richard hadn’t killed Lady Anne’s husband.
Another good example lies in Queen Margaret’s dialogue when she says,
“Hear me, you wrangling pirates, that fall out in sharing that which you have pilled from me. Which of you trembles not that looks on me? If not that I am queen, you bow like subjects, Yet that by you deposed, you quake like rebels. Ah, gentle villain, do not turn away.” (Shakespeare 29)
In this scene Queen Margaret is aggressively expressing her anger towards Richard who has killed her husband and her son. Of course, it seems natural that any woman would be aggressive and mean toward the murderer of her family. Yet, in Shakespeare’s time, the queen was powerless without her husband. Given the 16th century context, Queen Margaret is really going out on a limb with her word choice. She directly calls Richard a pirate and a villain, while placing herself in the position of an authority figure.
After carefully reading Richard III, it seems reasonable to ask what Shakespeare thought of women personally. Did he really believe all women are aggressive and irrational or did he just create this image to fit into his play?
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