Because Professor Mulready has already mentioned Richard III a few times this semester, I have been looking forward to experiencing for myself who he has referred to as “one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains”. Even after only reading the first act of the play, I have not been disappointed. In addition to his plots of murder and betrayal, one particular instance in the first act has caught my attention.
This occasion is in scene 2, when he intrudes upon the funeral procession of Henry VI. He is there to speak to Lady Anne, Henry’s daughter-in-law. He is responsible for Henry’s death, and is also the man who killed Anne’s husband, Edward. Richard intends, as part of his “master plan”, to woo Lady Anne despite of what he has done to break up her family.
From the beginning of their encounter, Anne is repulsed by Richard. She curses him, asking God to punish him. Richard is unrelenting, begging for a chance to explain himself. Her accusations do not stop, but Richard declares that he finds her to be beautiful. He admits that he has killed her husband and father-in-law, but claims to be penitent. He gives her his sword and bares his chest, telling her to kill him. When she begins to soften, he says that he will kill himself if she truly wants him to. She really begins to come around then, and accepts a ring that he quickly offers her. She is even convinced so far as to give him her father-in-law’s body to let him bury it.
The reason that this part of the play has stuck out so much for me is because I find it amazing that Richard is able to manipulate someone who, five minutes ago, had spit on him. Shakespeare artfully portrays the true nature of his character so immediately and successfully. I truly need no other evidence to despise this man, though I am sure that I’ll find many more reasons to as the play goes on. I simply find it fascinating that someone could be so evil, yet obviously so charming and convincing when he wants to be.
On the other hand, I also would love to be able to reach into the play and give Lady Anne a good slap in the face to make her realize that this man is foul, and should in know way be trusted. I look forward to seeing how her character develops in the rest of the play. Hopefully she will snap back to reality and beat this evil creature at his own game, but something tells me I won’t get the pleasure of seeing that happen.
3 comments:
Just like you, I had high expectations for Richard's villainy based on Prof. Mulready's statements at the beginning of the semester, and like you, I have not been disappointed! The scene between Anne and Richard is so beautifully written, and the imagery of Lady Anne between the corpse of her father-in-law, and the decrepit body of Richard III is so visually powerful. As you said, the reader is given a very telling glimpse of Richard’s ruthless and nefarious nature. But I too, find Lady Anne’s responses incredibly unsettling. Why/how does she allow Richard’s words to cut through her grief and sorrow? I find it very hard to absorb the scene from a feminist point of view. You really do want to slap Lady Anne across the face! But, I have decided, for the sake of the story and my own Shakespearian sanity, that Lady Anne is merely a tool for the audience to attempt to understand the Richard’s wickedness and persuasiveness. He seems to use Lady Anne to as a way for us to see how Richard is persuasive and evil enough to be able to convince a grief stricken woman, whose husband’s body has barely been given the chance to turn cold, and who is filled with bitter hatred for her suitor, to accept his ring and agree to see him again. That is some powerful rhetoric!
I'm struck in the post and Martha's response by the idea of persuasion and rhetoric, reminding me of Othello as much as Iago. Shakespeare shows us in Richard a character who is a master of persuasion, but who persuades for evil motivations.
I, too am amazed at Richard's ability to manipulate people. Especially to be able to coerce someone who openly despised him into actually feeling sorry for him, in a matter of minutes, as Elyse posted. But even more so, I am shocked by Lady Anne's responses and involvement in the situation, as mentioned by Martha. I, too find the whole thing very unsettling. I totally agree with Martha and think, or hope, that Shakespeare is simply using her character as a tool to further illustrate the degree to which Richard can manipulate others. Because as a reader, and more importantly a woman, I find Lady Anne to be unbelievable as a character and a poor representation of women in general. I think that Elyse hits the nail on the head when saying that Lady Anne needs a good slap in the face!
Post a Comment