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  • Essay / How the theme of entrapment appears in A Streetcar Named Desire and Duchess of Malfi

    Both Websters in “The Duchess of Malfi,” a Jacobean revenge tragedy, and Williams in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a modern film of the 20th century. domestic tragedy, use entrapment as the focal point of the main dramatic moments. The playwrights particularly focus on the physical and psychological entrapment of women due to the patriarchal attitudes of their respective societies. However, the damage men suffer from patriarchy is also explored, although, interestingly, more seemingly in "Malfi" than in "Streetcar." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Both plays use male speech to convey that the female characters are threatened by the dangerous patriarchal ideology that will essentially trap and destroy them. In Act 1, Webster uses the verbal exchange between the Duchess and her brothers to immediately emphasize the bitter battle over the Duchess's right to marriage and social status: "You are a widow." This condescending register assumes that the duchess's identity is not linked to her good virtues, but to her social category and the men around her – so she must act accordingly. Represented through Ferdinand, this attitude traps the Duchess, preventing her from exploring her own ideas, such as remarriage. One can imagine the bitter spitting of these monosyllables in a Jacobean production of the play – probably reflecting the public's terror of widows. This fear - so intense that widows were often excluded from social circles - manifested itself in the threat of an economically independent woman with previous sexual experience, who, lacking the authority of a rational man, might engage in unrestrained sexual activities. Webster expresses the Duchess's resentment at these attitudes in Act 4: "The robin and the nightingale/Never live long in cages." " As well as accentuating the Duchess's dissatisfaction with her physical entrapment, this metaphor mainly serves to highlight the oppression of her "noble" spirit - which is symbolized by the animal imagery of a " robin” and a “nightingale” – birds that suggest joy and joy. release. In addition to emphasizing the Duchess' anger at her imprisonment, the color "red" is used by Webster as a prolepsy to the danger and tragic outcome of the play, thus trapping her in her destiny, as this outcome includes his own death. Due to the play's status as a revenge tragedy, this catastrophe is made inevitable from the start; just like in plays like “Oedipus” and “Romeo and Juliet,” where the tragic protagonists also suffer because of their own hamartia. The death of the Duchess leads to an ultimate trap: she freezes in the “monument she pretended not to be” (Christina Luckyj). The ghost of herself fossilizes in a mute and mystical “monument” whose ruins are “never to be pitied.” This could be linked to Freud's "Madonna-whore complex", which suggests that men view women either as holy "Madonnas" or as debased "whores". Despite the Duchess's stoic efforts to be seen as more than just a sacred idol ("it's flesh and blood sir"), her death traps her in a "gallery", like the many statues of the Madonna found around Rome. Interestingly, Blanche is also ultimately trapped and destroyed by imperative patriarchal attitudes, but they do not escalate into physical but metaphorical death. Williams usesalso the speech of male characters to highlight the patriarchal domination of family relations, an attitude which seeks to highlight the patriarchal domination of family relations. to trap female characters: “Let me enlighten you on a point or two, baby.” Not only does this statement demonstrate Stanley's arrogant nature, but the offhand "baby" remark infantilizes Stella, making her believe that she is totally dependent on him for basic human needs such as food and a "regular allowance." Stella is trapped by this manipulation, as her desires to become independent are quickly repressed by Stanley's violence. In the 1951 film adaptation, this abusive position is amplified by Marlon Brando, who contorts his facial muscles to emphasize Stanley's primatial passion: "STELL-AHHHHH." This exclamation demonstrates Stella's entrapment in her marital relationship, due to the threat of uncontrolled physical violence if she dares to attempt to escape. Describing the proper noun, the adjective "split the sky" illustrates Stanley's ability to corrupt anything of value (heaven), therefore, trapping Stella from freedom simultaneously traps her from one last possible opportunity to happiness. Despite this total authority over his wife, Stanley's thirst for supremacy has not yet been completely extinguished. Williams represents Stanley's entrapment of Blanche through his desire for control in scene 8: "Every man is a king!" And I'm the king here. Directly quoted by corrupt Senator Huey Long, this statement illustrates the escalating conflict between the emerging working class and the declining wealthy class, whose luxurious wealth had been built on the backs of slaves. This friction ends up trapping Blanche, whose frivolous Southern views are not tolerated in New Orleans. She must therefore learn to adopt a less archaic approach to life. The Duchess is another character whose high status offends others, who trap her in retaliation. However, while Stanley benefits from this revenge, the authors of “Malfi” suffer reprisals. Both plays use the motif of light to illustrate how morally good characters are trapped in the corrupt worlds they inhabit. In Act 4 of “Malfi,” Webster uses prison-like proxemics to create a proto-Gothic atmosphere, which juxtaposes the “pure” spirit of the Duchess: “You were too much in the light. But no more. This monosyllabic phrase accurately describes the malevolent nature of Ferdinand, whose stifling attitudes ultimately ensnare the Duchess, ultimately leading to his execution. In this way, the deprivation of light during this scene is an ironic prolepsy to the eventual catastrophe, in which darkness completely engulfs his metaphorical "light." This play with lighting effects would have been particularly impressive during the Jacobean productions of “Malfi” staged at the “Blackfriars Theatre”. Smaller and more intimate than the Globe, Blackfriars' apron stage was lit by beeswax candles, and sunlight was often hidden from the theater by dark blinds, allowing disgruntled characters such as Ferdinand to reflect weak physical light. Due to Ferdinand's frequent associations with darkness; the correlation of his character with a more vicious light, fire, seems surprising: “we must no longer use balm, but fire” “to fuel a fire as great as my revenge”. These allusions illustrate Ferdinand's trap behind his lustful fury, which prevents him from noticing his sister's true virtues. Critics have debated that both associations of..