The representation of women in 'King Lear' and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ were both heavily influenced by attitudes towards gender at the time that both plays were set and written. ‘King Lear’, written in 1605, but set in the eighth century, and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, set in the 1950s, although centuries apart, both texts precede the feminist movement of the 1960s. King Lear, however, being set in the eighth century would mean that women were perhaps more mistreated and objectified. The main similarity between the two eras and the oppression within both is that women were very much seen as the possessions of wealthy men. However, in King Lear these wealthy men would’ve been either kings or owners of Land, rather than perhaps corporate …show more content…
As Stella is continuously manipulated by her husband. Stanley’s forced masculinity is highlighted on page 115 where he says “Now let’s cut the re-bop!” Stanley’s manliness is expressed through loud noises, whether it be ‘bellowing’ or ‘booming’, the onomatopoeia is always present and takes its toll on the somewhat ‘delicate’ women in this story. It is almost as if Stanley has possession over Stella and even Blanche at some points. If they ever question his motives, he will corrupt the area like a child. For example, when the three of them are having dinner the animosity between him and Blanche begins to be too much. She tells a story about a priest and Stanley rises up and smashes a plate, proclaiming the exclamative sentence “That’s how I’ll clear the table!” his answer to everything is so cause a frantic atmosphere to make the women feel intimidated and this highlights his masculinity to not only himself but the audience too. It is he who sets such rules, allowing no comment or opinion. Therefore, it is through using techniques such as the dialogue above, stage directions, the beating of Stella, committed by Stanley throughout the majority of the play, that Tennessee Williams foregrounds society’s attitude towards masculinity and female possessions within the …show more content…
Regan appears genuinely upset to learn of Edgar's betrayal. Thus, Regan initially appears as the more sympathetic and gentler sister. Regan has no real reverence for her father and king, but more so than Goneril. On the topic of deception between women, Blanche deceives not just her sister but also Mitch. She appears to be much younger and youthful and even innocent, when in reality, she is middle aged and possessing mental issues. Comparing two contrasting abstract substantives, she says “I don’t want realism, I want magic!” the use of the abstract vocable ‘magic’ highlights the point being that she cannot accept the reality of her situation and is almost deceiving herself by wearing makeup and fancy clothes. Distracting herself from the person who she has emerged into. The idea that she contradicts herself by saying ‘I don’t want’, then being followed by ‘I want’, shows that she is very uncertain and possibly unstable. For all one knows, perhaps Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare both wanted to highlight how society can trick people into having perfect, angelic ideas of women in their heads. When in retrospect, they are nothing of the
At the end of A Streetcar Named Desire, Stella ‘sobs with inhuman abandon’ and Stanley kneels beside her, unsure what to do. Stella feels incredibly guilty for letting her sister, Blanche, be taken to the mental hospital, she feels as though its her duty, as her sister, to look after her. However this is impossible because Stanley raped her and Stella refuse to believe it, so, she does nothing and the play ends with Stanley's fingers finding ‘the opening of her blouse’. ………………..other reading…………….
Blanche is heard singing ‘It’s a Barnum and Bailey world, Just a phony as it can be—’. ‘Barnum’, is an exophoric reference to the Barnum effect, from entertainer P. T. Barnum—a notorious hoaxer, that meant to accept vague information. In addition, by using the word ‘phony’ the concept of half-truth, hoaxes and deceit, foreshadowing to her fate to people’s belief in half-truths, is further emphasised by Williams. Therefore, Blanche’s jovial singing is dramatic irony and temporal prolepsis to her fate as it reflects Stanley’s actions and the events in scene IX with Mitch. William’s conveys that this is the most likely cause of misunderstanding through Stanley’s use of colloquial lexis like the monosyllabic ‘Boy, oh, boy’ and by purposely misspelling practically when he says confidently that ‘Yep it was practickly a town ordinance’ and uses a declarative statement to convey his certainty on something that in truth is far from certain. By doing this, Williams emphasises the uneducated nature of Stanley to the audience, and implies that his claim may not actually be that true. The plosive repetition of, ‘Boy’, in, ‘Boy, oh, Boy!’, is used to emphasise his enthusiasm for the downfall of Blanche and conveys the immaturity of Stanley to the audience. Furthermore, Stanley’s malice towards Blanche is highlighted by his use of the semantic field of fishing when he exclaims that he’d ‘like to have seen her trying to squirm out of that one! But they had her on the hook good’ with the zoomorphic use of ‘squirm’ to characterise Blanche as the
Power is a strong ability that is used to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. (add reference) Almost everybody wants power or has power. Most people do not seem to be happy unless they have some sort of power. The entire world is evolved around power, from presidents, terrorists, parents, all the way to the hierarchy of the animal kingdom. The tragic play titled King Lear by William Shakespeare, the protagonist is named King Lear. He has troubles with his powers of being a king and has a tragic downfall, after many mistakes of trying to maintain it. King Lear and A Streetcar Named Desire have a large quantity of difficulties on their own, but the two plays also share a lot of the same problems. In the play A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams, the protagonist but not the tragic hero is Stanley Kowalski. He is married and lives with Stella Kowalski, who’s sister is Blanche Dubois, the tragic hero of the play. Stanley also has troubles with his power within, which causes a lot of mistakes. In the plays, King Lear by
Stanley’s biggest issue with Stella and Blanche is that they always “undermine” him. He struggles to remain in control and appear as the head of their household as Blanche encourages Stella to stand her ground with Stanley. Stanley hitting and yelling at Stella is him showing dominance and his “masculinity”. Stanley is always trying to portray an image of masculinity and control whether it is directed at Stella or Blanche. But with Blanche constantly insulting him and undermining his authority he has to strive even harder to show dominance. As the story progresses Stanley becomes more frustrated with Stella and becomes aggressive with her in order to appear in control of the situation. Stella: ”…You come out with me while Blanche is getting dressed.” Stanley: ”Since when do you give me orders?” (2.70-1) Once Mitch discovers that Blanche is not the pure woman she made herself out to be, he feels entitled to having the same benefits other men have had with her. When Blanche turns down his advances, he becomes angry with her and tries to force her to have sex with him. Blanche becomes scared and threatens to expose him by opening the window and screaming “fire!” until he runs out of the apartment. Blanche: “...What do you want?” Mitch: “What I been missing all summer.” Blanche: ”Then marry me, Mitch!” Mitch: “I don’t think I want to marry you anymore.” Blanche: ”No?” Mitch: ”You’re not clean enough to bring in the
The syllable of the syllable. At this point, he is very drunk. Blanche, distracting Stanley by listening to the radio, instigates him to grab it off the table and toss it out the window. Stella, in a state of panic, tells everyone to go home, which angers Stanley so he chases after her and hits her. This type of behavior is not normal of any human being involved in any relationship.
...ices, such an attempt to elicit sympathy for this monster falls short” (Bell 2). Stanley is looked at as the monster of the play which is how he should be viewed. Luck was not on Blanches side through her life which made her make the mistakes she made. Even though her past was not clean, Stanley did not purge her of this. He tried to show her the reality of the world, but through his brutal treatment, only made her sensibility worse. Stanley is a primitive ape-like man, driven only by instinct, who views women as objects and has no respect for others. He is a wife batter and a rapist who is responsible for the crumbling sanity of Blanche who is “the last victim of the Old South, one who inherits the trappings of that grand society but pays the final price for the inability to adapt to a modern world that seeks to wipe grace and gentility out of existence” (Bell 2).
Stella, Stanley's wife in the play, is a passive woman. She is displayed this way through how she responds to the people and situations around her. When she is beaten by Stanley, she understands that his drunkenness takes hold of him and he has no control over his actions. She knows he never means her harm and his intentions are good.
However, there are also many instances where Stanley, a common working-class man, reveals his desire to be powerful and manly in his relationship with Stella, a woman who is of high class. Stanley is a man from a poor background and is married to a woman with a rich family history. Logically, Stanley may feel intimidated by Stella’s upbringing and feels that it is crucial to oppress her; it is hinted many times throughout the play as Stanley clearly demonstrates he is the one that holds the power by the way he treats Stella. Right from the start of the play, with Stanley’s introduction, he comes “around the corner… [with] a red-stained package from a butcher’s” (4), much like how an animal would bring its kill back home. With this, it is an analogy to a leader, Stanley, of a pack that brings back the food for the others to eat. The reliance of Stanley to bring back home the food broadcasts his will as the almighty alpha male that holds more importance than Stella. Furthermore, Stanley “heaves the meat at her (Stella),” (4) treating her as like a servant and also making a sexual innuendo. This action is one of disrespect and lets Stella know that she is under Stanley. This is an example of Stanley seeing Stella as a slave, a sexual object, under his control. Control is a large factor to Stanley as a husband and as a person. This is apparent when Stella explains that “Stanley doesn’t
From the first moment the Williams introduces Blanche, it is evident that she believes herself to be of a higher class, and this is shown with how uncomfortable she is around those of a lower class. When Blanche is shown an act of kindness from Eunice, “Why don’t you set down?” her response to this person of a lower class than herself is dismissive, “…I’d like to be left alone.” She instantly expects too much from a place called ‘Elysian Fields’. Blanche feels uneasy about being around those that are of a lower class, especially of those who she does not know, which is clear when she is reunited with her sister. She immediately becomes ostentatious in her actions, and begins to speak with “feverish vivacity”, “Stella, Oh Stella, Stella! Stella for Star!” Perhaps she is relieved to be with her sister once again, or it could be that she feels she now has someone to be dominant over, since she has little control over her own life. Blanche comes across as being very motherly towards Stella, “You messy child” in spite of the fact that Stella is soon to beco...
Written in 1947, by playwright Tennessee Williams, the play A Streetcar Named Desire opens in the 1940s in the well-known city of New Orleans. Readers are presented with the young couple Stan and Stella Kowalski who live below another young couple, Eunice and Steve. While Stan and Stella manage to maintain a relationship, it is abusive. Stella reunites with her alcoholic sister Blanche, after learning that the family plantation had been lost due to bankruptcy. Blanche, a widow often finds herself in difficult and unforeseen circumstances. Blanche’s poor choices and vulnerability leads to an affair with Stan’s poker buddy Mitch. Coinciding with his abusive nature, Stanley rapes Blanche. No one believes her until the very end, causing her to get sent away to a mental institution. While the play and film were smashing, each had their similarities overall, in regards to setting, plot, and characters while differences concerned narrative technique.
Blanche uses her dilutions and tries to sway Stella away from Stanley, yet Stella takes all these slanders and belittles them. Stella does this because she loves Stanley and since she is pregnant with his baby.
Stanley is, at first sought to be a dominant, rough individual but William’s use of stage direction implies an opposing thought. For example, Williams describes Blanche’s bed near the bedroom of Stella and Stanley’s, but what is so vital about the position of the bed readers may question. Conclusively, Stanley’s...
After Stella seeks refuge in her neighbour’s house following an assault, Stanley attempts to call Stella back to their home but Eunice interjects saying ‘You can’t beat a woman an’ then call ‘er back! She won’t come!’ This view of how a woman should act when asked something by her husband in Streetcar contrasts to that in Othello. In Othello women can be told where to go by their husbands and their actions will be supported by their peers, but in Streetcar Stella sees no issue in leaving Stanley and her disobedience of her husband is actively supported by both Eunice and Blanche. This is certainly a produce of the time period in which either play was written. However, no character in Streetcar agrees with Emilia’s sentiment that the proper thing to do would be for Stella to obey her husband. This difference in both plays demonstrates one of the key differences in the societies being presented to us – women have more independence. This is a direct result of 1st wave feminism, which occurred in between the times in which these texts were written. In William’s time, women now had the ability to vote, and were seen less like possessions. However, they were still expected to be obedient to the men in their lives in a very similar way to the 17th Century. Therefore, as a reader looking back on these texts in the 21st Century, we view the women as being oppressed, and the difference
She proceeds to break up the poker game that Stanley had going in the kitchen and he becomes enraged and beats Stella. She yells, “I want to go away, I want to go away!” (63). Blanche and Stella retreat to the upstairs apartment, however when Stanley cries for Stella to come back to him, she succumbs to his cries. The climax of tension between Stanley and Blanche is when he sexually assaults her. Stella refuses to believe Blanche’s accusations against Stanley stating, “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley” (165). The play ends with Stanley and Stella admitting Blanche to a mental institution and Stella staying with Stanley. Throughout the play, Stella is presented with many opportunities to leave Stanley, however, she never considers leaving him. In scene one, Stella tells Blanche, “I can hardly stand it hen he is away for a night…When he’s away for a week I nearly go wild!...And when he comes back I cry on his lap like a baby…” (19). Blanche disapproves of Stanley and in scene four she states, “You can get out”
Stanley (Stella's husband) represents a theme of realism in the play; he is shown as a primitive, masculine character that is irresistible to Stella and on some levels even to his "opponent" Stella's sister Blanche.