In the beginning of Act 2 Scene 2, all of the characters are sick with grief. The duchess will not tell Clarence’s children that he has died; yet they know it is true. They blame the King and Queen for ordering the execution of their father. The Duchess tells the children that it was not the King and Queen, but in fact their other Uncle, Richard iii. The children do not believe her. The Boy truly believes Richard is a good man, “And when my uncle told me so, he wept, / And pitied me, and kindly kissed my cheek, / Bade me rely on him as on my father, / And he would love me dearly as a child.” (2.ii.23-26).
As Queen Elizabeth enters, she is overly dramatic with her words, “Ah, who shall hinder me to wail and weep, / To chide my fortune and torment myself? / I’ll join with black despair against my soul / And to myself become an enemy.” (2.ii.34-37). The Duchess seems to compete with her grieving here, saying that she knows how Queen Elizabeth feels because she too has lost her husband, but know she has lost her two sons and is left with Richard (who she knows is responsible for the deaths of her sons).
Clarence’s children verbally attack Queen Elizabeth. They say that they shall not join her in mourning for King Edward because she did not weep for Clarence. Queen Elizabeth says she does not need help. All three start competing for the audience’s pity. They all say the same thing, but for their own selfish grief. The children cry for their father, the Duchess for her two sons, and Queen Elizabeth for her husband. They do not comfort one another.
In this time of grief a family should console one another and grieve together for their losses, but Richard has torn this family apart without any of them noticing, except for his mother, the Duchess. This shows Richard’s talent for deception and lack of a conscience, both of which are reoccurring motifs in the play.
