Source: "The Paradox of Power: The Henry VI- Richard III Tetralogy," in Wooing, Wedding, and Power; Women in Shakespeare's Plays, Columbia University Press, 1981, Pl'. 155-207.

[In her examination of the powerlessness of women in Richard III, Dash focuses primarily upon Margaret, Anne, and Elizabeth. She describes Margaret as "dynamic," remarking also that she is the least conventional of the three women and the character most often left out of productions of the play. Dash describes Anne, by contrast, as more compliant and more typically "feminine" in her obedience to Richard. Finally, she asserts that Elizabeth, who at first seems somewhat lackluster, grows more complex in Act IV, after Richard has murdered her young sons and she has asked Margaret to teach her how to curse her enemies. At this point, Dash compares the two Wooing scenes, observing that where Anne falls victim to Richard's clever words, the...