Topic sentences

Question 1

Masculinity

Answer 1

• Williams and Webster both portray societies in which male power thrives unchecked.
• In both plays, the central conflict derives from a female challenge to male power, which results in either psychological violence (Malfi) or psychological and physical violence (Streetcar).
• Yet both plays also present different models of masculinity - male characters who defy expected masculine codes and behaviours.

Question 2

Power

Answer 2

• Both plays present patriarchal societies characterised by masculine power and control.
• Both plays depict female characters who assert their personal power by challenging societal expectations.
• Both plays present verbal, physical and psychological violence as a response to female challenges to male power.

Question 3

Heroines

Answer 3

• Williams and Webster both portray their heroines as alienated and ultimately imprisoned within a patriarchal society.
• Both heroines however are depicted as gaining agency of some kind through their sexuality.
• Unlike Webster, who largely presents the Duchess as a defiant and noble person of high status, Williams presents Blanche as a psychologically damaged, emotionally fragile, socially liminal and culturally dispossessed woman.