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Summary of 5 pages for the course AS Unit 1 - Prose and Drama at WJEC (.)
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COMPARISONSTRAGEDY/BETRAYAL
> Both plays incorporate comedy which tragedy marched with and overcomes the humour of comic
satire, where a corrupt society reflects the tragic goodness of the heroine and purposefully
misunderstands that goodness, rejects those values for itself and prefers to adopt a lie. This
happened to the Duchess, who simply wanted to pursue the life of a normal woman seeking love
yet this was made into a vulnerability and target by her brothers. For Blanche, Stanley raping her
was considered a sign of her mental deterioration rather than the truth by Stella. Such a standpoint
leads to darkness, confusion and exhaustion, like Ferdinands ‘sleep’ and Stella’s depression when
Blanche is admitted to a mental asylum.
> Stanley and Ferdinand - cause betrayal of the two main women. Both vulgar, sexual characters who
use and abuse their physical power as a threat, which supresses both women, showing side effects
of each of their personalities. No signs of remorse ‘boil their bastard to a cullis’ he launches into a
series of sexual fantasies as he imagines his sister engaging in unrestrained promiscuity - he plans
to feed the meat broth to the child’s father to revitalise the latter’s energy so that he can resume
fornicating with his sister - his sanity is in danger of slipping, so much that the Cardinal pointedly
asks him ‘are you stark mad?’. Stanley focuses on Blanche’s vulnerabilities
CLASS
> Unorthodox marriage of the Duchess to Antonio and of Stella to Stanley. The Duchess married ‘out
of class’ which was a social misdemeanour for the Elizabethans, as it was considered more
acceptable for a man to marry below his social status, drawing his wife up. The same can be seen
for Stella, who marries a man from a descent of polish immigrants, who Blanche refers to as
‘polacks’ showing her prejudice - like Antonio being called a ‘household steward’ Stella is
unimpressed by Blanche’s criticisms of Stanley being ‘sub-human’ and ‘ape like’ (after witnessing his
behaviour at the poker night) but this attitude does rub off on her as by scene 8 she accuses him of
‘making a pig of himself’ = animalistic connotations, similar to Blanche’s degrading comments.
> Class antagonism shows when Stanley’s instinctive reaction is to drag Blanche down to his own
level, using his sexuality as a means of domination, as he had done with stella ‘I pulled you down off
them columns and how you loved it’. This can be contrasted with the Duchess’ approach, stating
that ‘we are forc’d to woo, because none dare woo us…’ the Duchess wants an egalitarian status
and rues the class division that sets her apart - she feels the need to depreciate herself to enable
herself to be ‘woo’d’, which further emphasises how the lust for sexual gratification by a woman
was seen as something to be ashamed of in her time.
> Struggle over inheritance - the Aaragon brothers wanted the Duchess to remain a widow as there
was no question of their having any valid entitlement to the wealth and estates that went with the
Dukedom of Malfi, as Ferdinand reveals he hoped to gain ‘an infinite mass of treasure by her death’.
In Webster’s time many widows did not remarry as for the first time in their lives they were truly
independent with the means to enjoy it, their identity no longer derived from their husband.
Stanley shows a similar interest in Blanche’s items including her ‘solid gold dress’ ‘fox fur pieces’
and ‘a treasure chest of a pirate’ Since Blanche can no longer afford fine jewelry, her attachment to
costume jewelry represents how she still clings to her previous lavish lifestyle. When Stanley finds
the jewelry, he overreacts thinking that the jewelry is made of solid gold, diamonds, and pearls.
Stanley's ignorance shows us the societal gap between Blanche and Stanley, Stanley belonging to
the working class and Blanche to the upper class. The symbolism of illusion reflects Blanche's lying
in hopes of concealing her secrets and ill-being.
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