Themes Of Gender Roles And Gender A Streetcar Named Desire

Themes of gender roles and gender performativity are evident throughout Williams’ iconic play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. In this essay, I will be examining what affect this has on the text as well as employing Judith Butlers theories of performing and performativity. Williams’ presents us with a range of characters who vary in terms of their gender expression. As a homosexual man himself, he also uses the play as a way to express his personal feelings as homosexuality was a great taboo and generally unspoken of. Blanche exacerbates her femininity by the way she dresses since she wears red satin, silks, costume jewellery and so forth. As the play progresses, Blanche clings on to her sexuality as it is perhaps one of the few senses of†¦show more content†¦The name Blanches translates into ‘white’ in French and therefore the colour white may symbolise the innocence in Blanche. Furthermore, she is insecure about her appearance and age; â €˜I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in the light’ which is noticed by mitch as she attempts to manipulate people to allow herself to feel better since she is overly reliant on male attention. Felicia Hardison Londrà © implies how Blanche’s ‘first impulse is to turn to another man as a saviour’ which further highlights Blanche’s reliance on male figures due to her past history of her ex-husband Allan committing suicide. This contrasts Stanley’s lack of reliance and his self-sufficiency in comparison of Blanche, this further upholds his image of being the ‘macho man’. Blanche has a strong desire devotion to finding a man who she can depend on, however she is not interested in a typical masculine man. For instance, she flirts with a young boy when he appears the Kowalski’s house; ‘have you got a lighter?’, Blanche returns to her old habits of manipulation. ‘They mustn’t have understo od what I wanted number I wanted’ evokes confusion and how Blanche is lost and in a difficult situation when she arrives in New Orleans which signifies her state throughout the play. This again contrasts Stanley as he is the centre of attention and is certain as compared to Blanche who is fragile and weak in comparison. This is an example of gender roles in the text, Blanche is expectedShow MoreRelatedGender Equality And Gender Differences Of The Play Top Girls And A Streetcar Named Desire 1466 Words   |  6 PagesThe plays ‘Top Girls’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ are written in ways that explore the issues surrounding gender equality and gender differences. Churchill explores the ideas of a feminist utopia where the men and women live in separate spheres which are prescribed to suit the stereotypical roles of the genders. For example at this time power dressing was a real strategy used by the new breed of feminists struggling for identity i n society. We learn about the relationship between women and workingRead More Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper and A Streetcar Named Desire1539 Words   |  7 Pages Many different depictions of gender roles exist in all times throughout the history of American culture and society. Some are well received and some are not. When pitted against each other for all intents and purposes of opposition, the portrayal of the aspects and common traits of masculinity and femininity are separated in a normal manner. However, when one gender expects the other to do its part and they are not satisfied with the results and demand more, things can shift from normal to extremeRead MoreA Streetcar Named Desire Analysis825 Words   |  4 PagesTennessee Williams’ 1947 drama, A Streetcar Named Desire, is a work of social realism which demonstrates the destructive impact of machismo on society in the late 1940s. In his raw representation of the human condition, Williams critiques the unrel enting gender roles which adversely affected so many members of his society. Although the drama is aimed at Williams’ society, as an audience member in the 21st century, Streetcar continues to be a confronting example of the past. Furthermore, the ongoingRead MoreHow Are Dominate Women Presented in A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller and A Streetcar by Tennessee Williams553 Words   |  3 PagesThe plays, A Streetcar Named Desire and A View from the Bridge, focus on the theme of domination of the female characters through the writer’s habit of literacy techniques such as imagery and realism to add the typical tragedy that follows in both plays – where the main character dies at the end and each playwright uses their own method to manipulate their point of view or opinion of the play’s plot to the audience members. In Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, its form of a Southern Gothic enablesRead MoreA Streetcar Named Desire Compare And Contrast1187 Words   |  5 PagesA Streetcar Named Desire s original drafts were started in the early 1940s by playwright Tennessee Williams, who prepared and tested numerous titles for the work. Eventually, the completed play opened on December 3, 1947 in New York City staring Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski and directed by Elia Kazan. This run of Streetcar lasted 855 performances until 1949 and won Williams a Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Later, in 1951, the film version was adapted and staredRead MoreThe Role of Women in America Around 1945 1480 Words   |  6 PagesThe Role of Women in America Around 1945 A Streetcar named Desire written by Tennessee William, show the reality of 1945, where women had a lower status than men thus implying a lower importance. There was a clear inequality between genders, perhaps as a function of the war and the need for everything to be â€Å"normal† again. Both the book A Streetcar named Desire, and the general society of 1945, show the same ideals of how a woman should be in order to fit into society. This is particularly theRead More A Comparison of Gender-Roles in A Dolls House and A Streetcar named Desire1400 Words   |  6 PagesGender-Roles in A Dolls House and A Streetcar named Desire   Ã‚   The roles of males and females in our society are subjects that entail great criticism, and have been under scrutiny for as long as a `society has existed. In analyzing A Dolls House by Henrick Ibsen and A Streetcar named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the effects that gender-roles have on relationships is an evident aspect in both of the plays. The choice of words used by the authors strongly underscores the themes of supremacyRead MoreLiterary Analysis : A Streetcar Named Desire By Tennessee Williams1493 Words   |  6 Pagesin the 1940s or by reading a book, novel or play. The play â€Å"A streetcar named desire† by Tennessee Williams is the perfect example since it was written in the late 1940s and it contains the themes of gender issues, and masculinity vs. femininity. Both of these themes will not only provide us with examples regards to social attitudes, but it will also state to us who had the power and how they gained the power. In a streetcar named des ire, the main characters include Blanche Dubois (older sister ofRead MoreA Telephone Call By Dorothy Parker1347 Words   |  6 Pages In the various works provided to the class many themes are present in all of them, this paper will be focusing on the authors methods of critiquing social norms. The short story, A Telephone Call by Dorothy Parker paints a harsh reality from the perspective of a highly anxious woman forced into a lifestyle that many would relate to in the 1900s. â€Å"My Last Duchess† by Robert Browning exposes the duke and the terrible social norms he reinforces through a poetic format allowing the reader to interpretRead MoreA Streetcar Named Desire Masculinity Analysis1054 Words   |  5 Pagesin A Streetcar Named Desire Tall, dark, and handsome has long been the standard of a desirable man. There is undoubtedly something about a â€Å"man’s man† that is intriguing and beguiling. However, there must be a point where too much masculinity becomes a problem. As society continues to praise men with the biggest muscles, the nicest cars, and the most women, it is becoming increasingly hard to draw the line between healthy masculinity and toxic masculinity. In Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named