Always together
In the first Act, Richard talks about the relationship Beatrice had with Robert and told her the way she saw them. Richard portrays the couple as being always together, inseparable even. From the way the couple is portrayed, it is transmitted the idea that Beatrice and Robert loved one another deeply and thus took advantage of every opportunity they could to be with one another.
The woman who can't decide what she wants
An important imagery which must be analyzed is the way in which Beatrice is portrayed. She is a woman loved by to men and it appears she loves the both men to some extent. Because of this, she finds it impossible to choose one man to be with and instead moves from one man to another, knowing that both will accept her because of their love. Her actions portray Beatrice as a capricious woman, someone who can’t make up her mind and a woman who can cause a lot of pain.
Unloving mother
Richard portrays himself at times as being a difficult person, someone who has trouble understanding others and how the world works at times. As a way of explaining why Richard is the way he is, the mother of Richard is portrayed in less than stellar, as a judgmental and harsh woman who can’t understand her son and who does not want to know why he behaved in a way she considered as being improper. The image portrayed here is that of a harsh mother and this is used in part to argue why Richard ended up as a dysfunctional adult.
Loving father
Another important image in the play is the way Richard portrays his own father, especially when comparing him with the image created about his mother. While the mother is presented as a ruthless woman, the father is imagined as sweet and generous, kind towards Richard up until his last day on this earth. The father died when Richard was only 14 years old and yet the image he kept in his heart was that of a man he will always respect and admire.
