How a white lie can lead to self-destruction[1]It would be difficult to find a more emblematic passage of the character of Richard III than the concluding soliloquy 1.2. In the presence of the corpse of his father-in-law, Henry VI (whom Richard himself killed, as did his husband), Richard proposes to Lady Anne. It is a testament to his cunning that he is able to convince her; he convinced her that he killed Henry VI and Edward for her love and that he is truly penitent. It is through this deception that Lady Anne is able to ignore Richard's transgressions, as well as her own suspicions about his honesty. After he leaves, Richard expresses his true feelings, reminding us exactly who he is. In this speech, Richard establishes thematic oppositions: beauty versus ugliness, good versus evil, and love versus hatred. What is hateful, angry, evil and disfigured, he associates with himself. In contrast, beauty, gentleness, valor and beauty are associated with Edward. The comparison between the two men is made explicit: “And yet she still looks down on me / Who cut off this sweet prince's golden flower / And made his widow a pitiful bed? / About me, whose all is not equal to Edward's half? / On me it stops and I am thus distorted?" From the beginning of the play until now, Richard has aligned himself solely on the side of ugliness. But at the end of this passage, there is a split. Richard considers a different vision of himself, that of beauty This is essential to the development of Richard's character He says: "My dukedom to a denialist beggar / I have been wrong about myself all this time / On. my life she finds, though I cannot / Myself be a wonderful and proper man." This introduces a duality in Richard's personality... middle of paper ...... refers to the self-perception, Anthony, like Richard and Othello, are aligned with undesirable qualities, as with the words "Hate my baseness". It is again a simple perception, taken literally, which drives desire. in this case to a destructive end Antony, Desdemona and Lady Anne have all built their destinies on the basis of thin (or thinly disguised) images offered by the objects of their desire. Simple ideas are quickly transformed into life-changing actions – in these plays, marriage and suicide. Furthermore, the self-conceptions of Richard, Othello, and Antony act as mirrors whose reflected images in turn influence their own desires. A cycle begins, the end result of which is a loss of self. Taken this way, these passages comment on the ease of influencing people and the chaotic potential of the human psyche.