modern times Flashcards
genre of handmaids
extrapolative/speculative fiction
Neologism, feminist dystopia and matriarchy.
what is handmaids an exaggeration of?
fundamentalist conservative Christianity, reminiscent of Puritan America.
the epigraph
includes a piece of religious scripture next to satire and spiritual ideas. Highlights the social dysfunction within Gilead.
handmaids post-modernism
uses analepsis and stream of consciousness.
what does handmaids challenge?
Challenges the male domination seen in ‘The Canterbury Tales’.
Aimed to re-examine the intention of world freedom.
Inspired by Orwell’s ‘1984’ as a criticism of totalitarianism and utopia.
what was atwood inspired by?
witch trials and American politics in the 1980s.
what followed second-wave feminism?
Anti-feminist revival in 1980s following second-wave feminism in 60s. Serena Joy is a parody of Phyllis Schlafly and ‘traditional family values.’
what did televangelism allow for?
widespread dissemination of conservative values.
what brought sexual freedom?
contraceptive pill.
Roe vs Wade and the legalisation of abortion.
when did atwood write the novel?
during a period of religious conservative revival in the 1980s.
what did Reagan lead?
‘The Moral Majority’ who sought to re-instil Christian values into American life.
jung’s theory of archetypes
sees Offred as the ‘hero’ through her bravery, loyalty, and intellect. She rebels against the villainous, hegemonic Gilead.
handmaids aristotelean tragedy
through hamartia and hubris. Nick led by his id.
sexual politics
- sexual relationships are rooted in power and literature mirrors patriarchy.
feminist critical theory
Simone de Beauvoir and the restrictive gender role of women, and the internalised misogyny/matriarchy in Gilead.
handmaids and marxism
value of labour placed on women’s fertility to uphold the structure that governs them.
what does handmaids underscore?
“Underscores some of the inherent conflicts in contemporary feminism.”
how is offred described?
“Offred is politically complacent before the takeover.”
how is gilead described?
“Chillingly specific, imaginable nightmare…steady feminist vision of apocalypse.”
how does weiss refer to offred?
as a “complicit participant in the regime and her own repression.”
offred, language and power
“Offred’s power is in language.”
“Language as the main instrument of ideological and social control.”
feminist quotes
“There is no sisterhood, only division and disempowerment.”
“All the sacred rights of humanity are violated by insisting on blind obedience”- Mary Wollstonecraft, 1792.
genre of streetcar
Tragicomedy, melodrama, soap operas and Southern Gothic through stereotypical characters and sensational elements. Overwhelming atmosphere.
Surrealism, expressionism, and post-impressionism.
who was williams?
a dramatist known for his ability to identify with the fragility and vulnerability of women.
Lived in New Orleans. Sensual overload and vitality in New Orleans contradict Blanche’s traditional taste.
who was williams inspired by?
His sister Rose suffered from mental illness and was institutionalised. Writing fuelled by negative experiences. Used writing as ‘an escape from a world of reality’.
‘cat on a hot tin roof’
also explores tragic elements such as haunting suicide, sexuality, and death.
what does elysian fields explore?
demise, ultimate paradise, and suffering. Hamartia and catharsis.
New Orleans as the ‘champion of diversity’.
what blurred class and race distinction?
Moving from plantation in the South to New Orleans.
Dealing with new demands and challenging the traditional demands of a patriarchal society- gender relations.
Major economic growth and significant social change in the South, New Orleans, late 1940s.
symbolic role of southern women
had a social and symbolic role to be passive and chaste. Contrasts the corruption and deceit behind Blanche’s facade.
who is seen as the spirit of new america?
working-class men.
Blanche and Stanley are from different worlds where money has different values.
what were women pushed back into after the war?
traditional domestic roles, as the war had shaken up traditional gender dynamics.
what was their a socioeconomic shift from?
‘Old Money’ into modernity and diversity.
Blanche represents the fall in status and social change of the American South.
what does stella represent?
rise of modern women
acts as the battlefield between the Old South and New America.
napoleon and huey long
as morally ambiguous, dangerous men in America.
what does the archetype of southern belle uphold?
Southern values from the Civil War (1861-65) and southern values of femininity.
what is stanley a symbol of?
the modern masculine world, and Blanche as a relic of time before the Civil War.
streetcar feminist viewpoints
Female characters as victims of patriarchal oppression.
Stanley as a sexually abusive villain who displays primeval masculinity- joie de vivre.
streetcar marxism
expresses the socioeconomic conditions and class struggles of 1940s America.
streetcar psychoanalysis
Blanche searches for pleasure (id) through standing in the lights. Wants moral and spiritual perfection (superego) through questioning Stanley’s success.
eros and thanatos
streetcars of desire and death.
what does streetcar address and critique?
“Addresses prejudice based on class.”
“Critique on conventional notions of morality” and the consequences fall on women.
what does streetcar allegorise?
“Allegorises the struggle between effeminate culture and masculine libido.”
stanley quote
“Stanley represents the macho, forward-driving America of the future.”
sanity quote
“Sanity is dependent on adhering to the social roles expected of us”- Kirby.
what does blanche escape to?
“Escaping to alcohol, madness and promiscuity.”
streetcar and gender stereotyping
“critiques the limitations that post-war American society imposed on itself.”
role of women in post-war literature
handmaids critiques a matriarchal network and new form of misogyny
‘their eyes were watching god’ deals with the role of women and societal oppression- even from other women.
political resistance in modern literature
handmaids focuses on female oppression, seen in the Rachel and Leah Centre and Aunt Lydia.
Winston, similar to Offred, loses his identity and individuality in ‘1984’ within a totalitarian government. Inspired by growing hatred for political authority.
accepting reality, change, and learning to live without illusion
the wingfield family in ‘the glass menagerie’ find comfort in illusion over the real world
imperfect relationships
streetcar presents a tumultuous and aggressive marriage- the conflict that arises due to marriage and subsequent social change.
‘who’s afraid of virginia woolf’- Albee shows marriage as a vehicle for conflict in the tense political climate of 1960s america
dramatic climax
Each scene of the play ends in a dramatic climax, which builds up to the tension of the final climax. Allows audience to finally feel catharsis after Blanche’s breakdown in Scene 11 as the end of her suffering.
light and colour
Blanche is never seen in bright light- clear light is antithetical to her fantasy world.
Vitality of New Orleans’ lifestyle and society. Her lack of control adds to the pervasive and entrapped atmosphere, which acts as the catalyst for her downfall.
Uses post-impressionist techniques when describing the Poker Night. Obtrusive lighting and setting show Blanche’s extreme physical discomfort in Elysian Fields/New America.
Green and red as the ‘terrible passions of humanity’ convey the constant conflict surrounding Blanche- “slices of watermelon”, “vivid green glass shade”, “lurid nocturnal brilliance”, “a red and white check, a light green” in Scene 3.
freudian psychoanalysis
Highlights importance of sexual desire and death in the play. Streetcars of ‘Desire’ and ‘Cemeteries’ are symbolic of Eros and Thanatos.
Blanche standing in the light in Scene 3 reveals her search for pleasure (id). Desires long term stability with Mitch (ego). Questioning Stanley’s morality and success (superego).
chekov’s gun
“They told me to take a streetcar named Desire” uses imagery of life and death to draw attention to Elysian Fields.
Blanche’s tiara and evening gown in Scene 10 fits into the dramatic principle as her new clothes will be dirtied, torn, or drenched.
blue piano
Expresses the ‘spirit of life’ in the French Quarter of New Orleans and ‘catches the soul of Blanche’.
Expressionism used to reveal truths and alter audiences of emotional drama and sexual tension.
the varsouviana polka
Symbolises Blanche’s internal terror (non-diegetic).
Forces the audience to experience her haunting reality. She hears the Polka inside her mind in Scene 9 when recalling her marriage.
popular songs
Foregrounds the conflict between Stanley’s hard truth and Blanche’s make-believe world- no way out for her.
Sentimental melody of ‘Paper Moon’ and when Stanley reveals the ‘sordid truth’ about Blanche in Scene 7.
