Essential powerlessness of women in A Streetcar Named Desire and Duchess of Malfi
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Course
AS Unit 1 - Prose and Drama
Institution
WJEC
Book
Streetcar Named Desire
The question that is answered in this essay is: “What strikes us the most forcibly is the essential powerlessness of women”. In the light of this statement, explore connotations between The Duchess of Malfi and A Streetcar Named Desire” - it is a high grade essay which can also serve as revis...
“What strikes us the most forcibly is the essental powerlessness of women”. In the light of
this statement, explore connotatons between The Duchess of Malf and A Streetcar Named
Desire”
Power has the tendency to be followed by corruptonn especially when power is abused. It is
evident that the lack of authority and respect for both females in The Duchess of Malf and A
Streetcar Named Desire is symbolic of a greater message than merely showcasing a patriarchal
society. In both ‘Streetcar’ and ‘Malf’n the female characters fnd themselves supressed by the men
and society’s straight jacket it forces them to conform to.
Assertve women provoked much controversy in both setngs’ of both plays. Elements of the
Duchess and Blanche’s characters portray great strengthn but it is the society they are engaged with
that supresses thisn which provides interestng yet tense entertainment for a modern audience. The
Duchess is described as a Renaissance stereotype ‘lusty widow’ showcasing the dilemma woman
facedn as they were forced into a situaton of being expected to be open to men’s sexual advances
but also risk losing their honour. Blanche on the other hand is a proclaimed ‘southern belle’n a
fgure which in the South was expected woman to be puren chaste and ladylliken instead of
authentc and human. Stanley is threatened by Blanchen as they both pine for Stella’s support and
attenton. Some believe he sees her as a foe over whom he needs to establish dominancen not some
damsel in distress he wants to violate for his own pleasure. Stella herself tells Stanley that ‘nobody
was tender and trustng as she [Blanche] wasn but people like you abused hern and forced her to
change’n foreshadowing Stanley’s ‘abuse’ which forces Blanche to contnue her path of changen to
retreat further from the reality that so clearly destroys her. Just like the Duchess with her brothers
and Blanche with Stanleyn strength will always conquer any signs of weaknessn which essentally
leads to the characters’ powerlessness.
A common denominator of the female characters in the plays are that they are to some extent
victms of some form of abusen regardless of individual percepton or opinion. Stanley and
Ferdinand are both driven by an impulse to attack womenn associated with phallic imagesn
described using animalistc imageryn for example Ferdinand’s ‘wolf’ ego showing the manifestaton
of his original character. Ferdinand does however show remorsen and is punished through his
insanityn whereas Stanley remains untouched and composed at the end of the play. Both of the
Duchess’ brothers abuse hern the Cardinal being at fault for being much too cold and Ferdinandn her
twinn for being much too hot. Ferdinand’s outrage at his sister’s marriage surprises and then alarms
even the Cardinaln who’s words ‘to see her in the shameful act of sin’. Alluding to the Duchess being
an indiscriminate sex maniacn ‘sin’ ofers connotatons of hurtn which Ferdinand may be feeling afer
imagining his sister with another man. His ofer of the familial and phallic poniard all seem to point
to his unfulflled and ultmately insane desire for his sister.
In moments of desire and in hope of loven Stella and the Duchess seem to temporarily surrender
their rights to be respectedn leaving them vulnerable and powerless. Stanley’s primitve nature and
aggression is at the detriment of Stellan but also is what attracts her to himn as she enjoys his raw
physical powern lef ‘serene’ afer sleeping with him. These stage directons act as a stark contrast
to the rather violent incident the previous night. Imagery of her powerlessness to Stanley’s sexual
performance is contnuedn as Stella’s ‘narcotied tranquility’ illustrates a drugllike efectn her facial
expression of ‘eastern idols’ alluding to idols found in Asian such as Buddhan drawing a connecton
between her state of peacen and the Buddha’s. Stella’s drug like addicton and her extreme serenity
afer sex portray her sensuality. This concept is also seen in Malfn where it describes ‘by dayn the
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