100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Previously searched by you
Previously searched by you
logo
Essay question - "Analyse Williams' presentation of women and femininity in the opening scenes of 'A Streetcar Named Desire". £3.39
Add to cart
Quickly navigate to
Preview
  2.  
  3. AQA
  4.  
  5. English Literature B
  6.  
  7. A Streetcar Named Desire

Exam (elaborations)

Essay question - "Analyse Williams' presentation of women and femininity in the opening scenes of 'A Streetcar Named Desire".
 1 purchase
  • Institution
  • AQA

This is a practise exam question for my set text "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams. The question is "Analyse Williams' presentation of women and femininity in the opening scenes of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' ".

Preview 1 out of 2  pages

Document information

  • February 1, 2021
  • 2
  • 2020/2021
  • Exam (elaborations)
  • Questions & answers

Subjects

Connected book

book image

Book Title:

Author(s):

  • Edition:
  • ISBN:
  • Edition:

More summaries for

All for this textbook (19)

Written for

All documents for this subject (5)

Seller

avatar-seller
rxpd

Reviews received

Content preview

Analyse Williams’ presentation of women and femininity in the opening scenes of ‘A streetcar
named Desire’.

During the initial scenes of his play ‘A streetcar named desire’ Tennessee Williams presents the
trope of women and femininity in a variety of ways. Williams’ does, on occasion, portray a
shattering of female stereotypes and symbols of rebellion against female oppression. For
instance, through Blanche’s open language and reference towards sexuality (‘that one seems
superior to the others’ ‘is he a wolf?’) she challenges conventional expectations of women;
openly sexual remarks would not have been acceptable in female conversation. Nevertheless, it
would be inexact to suggest that this is Williams’ principal message about women and
femininity. Foremost in the play, Williams’ represents women as abused, manipulated and
oppressed by the Patriarchy and societal expectations.

Arguably, the two paramount representations of women and femininity in the play are the
personas of Stella and Blanche. Blanche is portrayed as completely dissimilar to Stella in an
abundance of ways. For instance, whilst Stella now has a growing family and stable future
prospects - Blanche is alone, unmarried and has just lost her family's house and fortune.
Blanches femininity is based largely on deception and lies. Her obsession with sustaining the
illusion of her ever fading outer beauty means that throughout the majority of the play she
pretends to be someone that she is not - lying about her age, her job and her issues with
alcoholism. Blanche constantly feels the need to be reassured and complimented - ‘you haven't
said a word about my appearance’, ‘ “You are as fresh as a daisy.”..”One that’s been picked a
few days” ’ her introspective negativity is done purposefully to provoke compliments as losing
her youthful appearance seems to be her biggest insecurity. Blanche’s obsession with her outer
appearance is a great example of where women are shown to be corrupted by
patriarchal/societal expectations in the play. Perhaps williams is implying that Blanche feels as
though her only pathway to holding any power as a woman in a patriarchal society is through
her attractiveness and that is why she is so concerned about conserving it.

Stella portrays the ideal characteristics of a woman in 1947 (when the play was written and set).
She is married, has a relatively nice house and a child on the way meaning that a 1940’s
audience may have viewed her as having an idyllic life. However, a modern audience may see
Stella as much more of a victim of both domestic abuse from Stanley and the patriarchy. At
points in the play, Stella tries to appear strong and assert herself as holding some dominance,
shouting to Stanley ‘Don’t holler at me like that’ - the imperative verb ‘don’t’ suggests an
endeavour to seem confident and authoritative. However, Stanley almost makes a mockery of
her attempt at claiming some power by aggressively throwing meat at her, implying his status as
the dominant figure in their relationship.

A pivotal scene in the play is scene 3 ‘The Poker Night’. As this was originally a working title for
the play, it is immediately established as a scene of great importance. This scene is one of the
biggest reflections of patriarchal abuse of women and female submission in the play. Stanley’s
physical abuse towards Stella ‘He advances and disappears. There is the sound of a blow.
Stella cries out.’ This abusive demonstration of dominance represents the extremes that Stanley

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller rxpd. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for £3.39. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

64257 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 15 years now

Start selling

Recently viewed by you

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

DAVIS ADVANTAGE FOR ESSENTIALS OF PSYCHIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH NURSING: CONCEPTS OF CARE IN EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE 8TH EDITION BY KARYN I. MORGAN| COMPLETE TEST BANK|100% VERIFIED ANSWERS| LATEST 2024/2

Summary ·

(0)

Samenvatting - mens en omgeving

Package deal ·

(0)

HRM587 Final Exam / DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management - HRM 587 HRM587 Final Exam (3 sets) complete questions and answers (latest spring 2021) A+ Help

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

MATH 225N Week 2 Graphs Homework Help Questions and Answers( Complete Solution Rated A)

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

NR 601-Diabetes GYN & GU quiz Questions With Complete Solutions

Summary ·

(1)

Summary for mid-term of Introduction to Public Administration

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

Test Bank for Medical-Surgical Nursing Critical Thinking in Client Care, 4th Edition Priscilla LeMon

Exam (elaborations) ·

(1)

TNCC 9TH EDITION REAL EXAM 2024 QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS GRADED A+

Exam (elaborations) ·

(0)

VERIFIED GUIDE on NUR 631 Study Guide for Midterm Exam |
£3.39  1x  sold
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added