"What strikes us most forcibly is the essential powerlessness of women" In the light of this statement, explore connections between The Duchess of Malfi and A Streetcar Named Desire

Intro

• TDOM shows not exactly powerlessness of women but male threat that condemns & diminishes female power

• ASND shows powerlessness of women as a more striking force through triumph of male threat & ruin of female protagonist

• Du

P1 - Male threat used forcefully limit female power (TDOM)

1. “Your darkest actions nay your privat’st thoughts" will come to light”→

• Literary trope of light & dark eg. light symbolises threat of exposure

• Emphasises brutal interrogation Ferdinand imposes on Duchess

• Intrusion of personal space reiterates his desire to take away whatever power she holds as ‘Prince’ of her state

2. ”root up her goodly forests, blast her meads and lay her general territory as waste as she hath done her honours”

• Dynamic imagery of force within F’s dialogue emphasises threat further

• Force of the verbs “blast” & “root” suggests extent of his anger & how he wants to utterly annihilate her leaving nothing behind, closely aligning with play’s genre of a revenge tragedy

AO5: F’s anger relates to stigmatised concept of remarriage in renaissance Italy eg. Dympha Callghan states remarriage as a “disease and monstrous abnormality”

3. “make them [her] low footsteps” rather than let of Antonio

• Duchess ignores brother's’ desires

• Unmoved by their threat

P2 - Male threat as destructive force towards female strength but perhaps becomes more successful (ASND)

1. Scene 3 “The men as the peak of their physical manhood, as course and as direct & powerful as primary colours”

• Patriarchy evident & shown through expressionist theatre techniques & colour imagery

• Starkly contrasts with Blanche’s paler & subdued appearance which “suggests a moth”

• “primary colours” highlights thriving nature of men in lively New America & Blanche’s parallel to decaying Old South,

• Literary trope of a “moth” highlights ultimate doom Blanche is heading towards

2. “tosses”, “heaves”, “pushes”, ”seizes”, “slams”, “smashes” & almost bestial descriptions of Stanley “Something ape like about him” & “steadily turns round”

• Brutality & destructive nature of males, like Webster also shown through plethora of verbs in Stanley’s stage directions

• Characterises him with dynamic verbs & animalistic qualities creating intense & brutal character depiction to exemplify ultimate destructive threat he poses for Blanche

3. Scene 2 Blanche hates to see her love letters from Alan Gray in his “big capable hands” & feels like after he has touched them she must “burn them”

• Stanley uses male position of power to attack Blanche & drive her to powerlessness, first few scenes it’s clear Blanche finds him physically intimidating

4. When Blanche starts relationship with Mitch, Stanley is evidently unhappy similar in TDOM but Blanche continues anyways

AO4: Male threat as destructive force towards female power

• In opening scenes, female protagonists seem unnerved by male threats

• Powerlessness though remains as both women still try to assert themselves against male patriarchal force

P3 - Becomes clear as play develops that Female characters will become punished for deviating from accepted patterns of behaviour (TDOM)

1. Duchess “why should I of all the princes in the world, be cased up like a holy relic” → Duchess tries to defend right to re-marry even when discovered but her arguments fall upon deaf ears, Reminding brother she’s a “prince” & hence has power in own right but also protesting against double standards of the time, her brothers like other powerful men don’t need to be “cased up” & she simply asks why she can’t have same treatment

2. Ferdinand “You have shook hands with Reputation and made him invisible” → Her reasoned approach is greeted with rage & misogynist discourse, Personification of reputation as male emphasise fact that it’s men who get to make judgements about women & prepares audience for fact that Duchess will soon have her land & title taken from her

P4 - Becomes clear as play develops that Female characters will become punished for deviating from accepted patterns of behaviour (ASND)

1. “the Varsouviana Polka music” used with Blanche more than any other character → Strength & reason maintained by Duchess contrasts with Blanche’s fading attempts at taking power seen through expressionist theatre techniques, Allows reader to become psychologically intimate with Blanche hence creating empathy as truth of her past is revealed & characters like Mitch start to see her as “not clean enough” to meet his mum

2. Scene 9 Mitch “been missing all summer” → Sexual double standard is rife here like in Webster’s play & Blanche’s only power & defence is to scream for help

TDOM - Ferdinand “Cover her face. Mines eyes dazzle. She died young” → Horrified when he he brings about death of sister, he is a slave to own emotions & changeable nature and becomes powerless at end….HOWEVER

1. Scene 8 Stanley “every man is a king” → Only Stanley gains power over women he tortures compared to TDOM men

2. Scene 11 “steadily shuffling the cards” → Stanley emerges victorious winning the poker game at end reminding us of the ‘cards’ he held from the start

P5 - Women have power? (TDOM)

1. “Duchess of Malfi still” → Uses progressive mindset & logic during death to attack all dominant norms prevalent at time psychologically to remain in power, AO5: Northrop Fyre says if we take out ‘still’ by its original meaning she says ‘I am Duchess of Malfi always’ meaning her brother can’t take away her voice/identity in way Blanche loses hers

2. Delio “Integrity of life is fames best friend, which nobly beyond death shall crown the end” → Those in life who live with humility & right principles shall be remembered providing evidence that play shows power of goodness & mortality, not powerlessness of women through triumph of Duchess’ legacy & influence which will live on in her son

3. Act 5 Scene 5 “like diamonds, we are cut by own dust” - Powerful image of great men crumbling away to nothing as Duchess still has power to influence events & when her brothers die they know it’s because of what they have done to her

P6 - Women don’t have power (ASND)

1. Scene 11 only able to “form [Stanley’s] name with her lips” → Contrasts to Duchess’ voice that continues to ‘echo’ on stage even after her death as Blanche is utterly silenced by end

2. Scene 10 “soiled and crumpled white satin evening gown” → Complete retreat from reality & ultimate downfall perhaps symbolically referencing fall of Old South which she has represented

3. Scene 11 “her voice dies out” → Blanche as more tragic figue than Duchess due to her inevitability of her destruction, the relentless physical attack that Stanley aggressively poses shows her utter powerlessness & as quote happens whilst men still play poker as if nothing happened

4. Scene 11 “blue blanket” → Patriarchy alive well at end & Stells baby will continue to live on Stanley’s legacy wheras Blanche as the last DuBois is taken away

5. Scene 11 “depend on the kindness of strangers” → Although Blanche might have tried to challenge Stanley’s brute force & primitive behaviour, she is led away by a male doctor who although may be kind certainly won’t allow her any kind of power