POWER Flashcards
POWER THROUGH CLASS AND WEALTH
Both Blanche and The Duchess have power through class and wealth. But while the Duchess’ status is current and existing, the power which Blanche has is illusory due to the loss of Belle Reve.
The way they use their class and wealth is also different. While the Duchess uses it to transgress social convention, Blanches’ class and wealth makes her a snobbish and unlikable character.
However, in both cases of transgression social convention, and snobbery, they make the male characters insecure about themselves.
Quote on how the Duchess uses her class and wealth to transgress social roles by marrying Antonio
‘this goodly roof of yours is too low built […] raise yourself, or, if you so please, my hand to raise you’
The Duchess is situated to be higher on the stage through the kneeling of Antonio. The duchess’ act of elevating Antonio is a physical manifestation of breaking the class barrier.
Motif of the ring
Quote on how Blanche uses her class and wealth to form judgements on those of lower status
‘he acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits. Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one’
It is apparent how Blanche is prone to snobbery. her comparison to Stanley as an animal shows she thinks he is subordinate. The repetition in the lines show an increasing amount of distaste towards Stanley.
In 2014 production of streetcar, Blanche in the first scene beckons at Eunice to carry her suitcase. Her snobbish nature makes the audience dislike her at first whereas the Duchess’ virtuous use of her class makes us like her.
Context of Belle Reve and the origins of Blanche’s class and wealth
Belle Reve is ‘beautiful dream’ in French but it is quite the opposite. Not only is Blanche’s wealth and status illusory, it is built on slavery. The treatment of slaves as subordinates is manifested within Blanche’s treatment of the characters she meets in New Orleans.
Bubb on how power through class and wealth makes men insecure
Bubb notes that the power which blanche holds, despite being a facade, conjures ‘A deep insecurity in Stanley’
Stanley’s insecurity: Motif of the ‘rhinestone tiara’
Stanley is threatened by the illusion of Blanche’s wealth and class. not only does he want a share of Blanche’s wealth, but he also feels threatened by not being the sole provider in the family.
But his inability to recognise the illusion play directly into Blanches snobbish portray of Stanly as an uneducated ‘animal’.
the brother’s insecurity:
Use a ‘cupping glass’ to ‘purge infected blood, such blood as hers’
Cupping glass was a way to draw out poisoned blood. But here instead of helping, it seems like a form of torture.
Context of dynastic purity.
SPACE AS A POWER OF CONFINEMENT
Women use sexuality as a power
motif of poniard
Ferdinand’s intrusion into The Duchess’ room is akin to the invasion of space seen with Blanche.
Upon entry, Ferdinand extracts his ‘poniard’ a symbol of his masculinity but also a phallic symbol of his instal desire. He gives it to her and exclaims ‘die then quickly’.
Ferdinand’s, entry is therefore a not only a threat to her privacy but also her safety like with Blanche. They both seem to be doomed in a place of confinement.
Quote on The Duchess’ confinement
“the robin redbreast and nightingale never live long in cages”
Images of bird motif and trapped freedom can be linked to Blanche as a ‘canary bird’. Never live long in cages suggest that the Duchess has accepted her fate and deemed entrapment as a power of her ultimate destruction.
Almeida 2019
The glass room which the Duchess is situated in is a physical representation of her constantly observed nature, even when in her own private space.
Belle Reve, Tarantula Arms, Elysian Fields
Blanche moves from one place of entrapment to another while the Duchess is only slowly descending into entrapment. It is this repeated entrapment that makes Blanche mad, the Duchess doesn’t have this experience and so reacts less severely.
Blanche was trapped in Belle Reve due to the burden and grief of the decline in the old south and the decline in her promised life due to the death of her gay husband. To Blanche, Belle Reve was associated to a destruction of herself ‘I TOOK THE BLOWS IN MY FACE AND MY BODY!’ and lost love and youth.
Tarantula Arms as the name suggests was a place of predation. it was a place of exile but arguably the only place in which Blanche was allowed a display of sexual desire.
However, Elysian Fields is the ultimate symbol of entrapment. Despite meaning in greek mythology a heaven within hell, it is ironically the opposite for Blanche. She goes searching for escape but is instead entrapped in a place that leads to her ultimate downfall.
Quote on Blanche commenting on the space of the setting
“But there’s no door between the two rooms, and Stanley - will be decent?”
there is no physical boundary between blanche and Stanley to protect her privacy, dignity, and safety. The absence of a door means no escape either.
Arguably the only space of privacy allowed for Blanche is the bathroom, which is why she is always in there. But even this is taken away when Stanley exclaims
Quote on Blanche and the bathroom
“Hey, canary bird! Toots! Get OUT of the BATHROOM!”
Arguably the only space of privacy allowed for Blanche is the bathroom, which is why she is always in there. It is the only place where she can maintain her illusions. But Stanley violates it to assert his power.
Calling her “canary bird” is mocking—it reduces her to a fragile, decorative thing, but also implies she’s trapped in a cage.
Stanley’s loud language is contrasted with the soft nature of the canary bird. Stanley is loud and violent.
MASCULINE POWER
The largest theme in both plays in the clash between masculine and female power. Eventually it is masculine power that wins.
Windsor
When confronted with female power and sexual desire, male characters react with extreme violence
Quote on the rape scene in streetcar
‘Tiger-tiger! […] We’ve had this date with each other since the beginning’
‘he picks up her innate figure and carries her to the bed’
Blanche’s is not a stoic resignation but a tired and worn out one forced by Stanley.
Quote on the Duchess’ death
“Pull, and pull strongly, for your able strength/ Must pull down heaven upon me”
She doesn’t beg for mercy but rather aids her death, symbolising a version of heroic sacrifice. She doesn’t see it as a death but rather frames it as her entrance into heaven. She therefore turns the executionor’s power into her own.
“I am the Duchess of Malfi still”
She still holds her identity, but this identity holds masculine power.
Baby in Streetcar
The baby solidifies Stanley’s control over Stella. It’s a biological bond that ties her to him in a way Blanche can’t compete with.
Stella is emotionally and physically invested in Stanley because he’s the father of her child. That makes it harder for her to see him clearly or leave him, even after he rapes her sister.
Therefore, the baby takes away Stella’s power: “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley”
The baby is also a symbol of Stanleys victory over Blanche as it is born during the Rape. There is little hope that the baby boy will not grow into the toxic masculine figure that Stanley is.
Baby in Malfi
The Duchess’s surviving child represents the persistence of her bloodline and values, even after her brutal murder.
“Delio exclaims that he will ‘establish this young hopeful gentleman/ In’s mother’s right.”
It’s a fragile symbol of future justice—the idea that truth and virtue might outlive cruelty and corruption.
The globe 2024, the remaining child is a girl - symbolising the continued feminine power rather than toxic masculine power.
