IB English Paper 2 (Streetcar and Doll's House)

By nature, plays hold the power to capture elements of the society they exist in, often raising questions about prominent issues of the time. In the play A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen, the protagonist Nora Helmer is placed in Victorian Norway, required to find her own identity in the male-dominated society. On the other hand in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, playwright Tennessee Williams pits Blanche DuBois -- a Southern Belle, into the patriarchal city of New Orleans, as she struggles in the new society. Both plays capture and criticise the times and places in which they were set through dramatic devices, utilising the setting, symbolism, and sound in the play. These techniques critically underline the absurd expectations and social norms at that time, conveying the authors’ message that women deserve equal respect and power in society.

Point of comparison 1:

Setting:

Firstly, both playwrights utilise setting to convey the oppressive nature of the societies. 

Point: In A Streetcar Named Desire, the setting of New Orleans is shown as invasive, repugnant against the Old South - embodied by Blanche.

Quotes: “raffish charm” “off-white weathered” “weather

Analysis: New Orleans is like a microcosm of the decaying Old South, filled with multicultural residents like a huge melting pot with a “raffish charm” → thriving working-class dominated city direct contrast to declining mental health of Blanche, feeling out of place and unable to fit in → underlines the contrast between brutal, unforgiving, and ruthless modern society and the elegant, well-presented, and mannered South → allows the audience to understand Blanche is out of place & unable to adapt → furthered as she encloses herself in the windowless setting of the bathroom, as it shuts her off from the world and becomes her safe haven → constantly washing herself, trying to cleanse her of her past to allow her to fit into the society and its chaste views of women, as society needs her to change and conform → its “off-white weathered” walls foreshadows Blanche’s decay, as it echos her name -- representing whiteness and purity and its disintegration as it “weather” away due to the enclosing society → arrival of Stella’s cramped and exposed apartment furthers the notion of discomfort and harsh reality → forced into new society and environment where it doesn’t tolerate the old → highlight’s Blanche’s deteriorating mindset while strengthening the idea that the old and new cannot co-exist → connote the increase of power in men and the changing gender dynamics in the society, how the new merit-based system eliminated the hospitality & generosity of the South

Point: On the other hand, Ibsen uses the setting of the Helmer household to highlight the institutionalised oppression against women.

Quotes: “comfortably furnished” “engravings on the wall” “doll wife” “carpet on the floor, a fire burns in the stove”

Analysis: Helmer household introduced with Torvald having his own study and Nora spending time in living room -- a shared space → physically embodies marital dynamic in Norwegian society, with clear lack of female autonomy as Nora’s role as a housewife is enhanced → gives impression of lack of openness and honesty → contrast the exposed and open setting of ASND, Victorian Norway masculinity is more elusive, while New Orleans imposes power in men much more directly and physically → furthered by the exclusivity of Torvald’s office → private space separated from domesticity, with Nora expected to be available whenever → “comfortably furnished” setting with “engravings on the wall” denotes gilded cage meant for a “doll wife” → highlights facade of marriage but also achieves agenda of exposing absurdities of society → lavish setting shows superficiality in marriage as each plays their role delicately according to society’s expectations, rewarding them in the form of status and wealth → contrast in ASND, where the marital role has to be played to survive instead of luxury → contrast harsh winter cold with comfortable setting of “carpet on the floor, a fire burns in the stove” → connotes isolation of Nora from society, pushing her to fulfill her role and not overstep, seen as she never steps outside throughout the play except in the finale → Nora’s lack of defiance shows the normalisation of the entrapping environment, as she’s lived in the society since birth -- unlike Blanche who is introduced to it -- essential to recognise for the difference in ending → also emphasises the courage of Nora as she eventually steps into the winter cold

Point of comparison 2:

Symbolism:

Moving on, both playwrights masterfully employ symbolism to underline the protagonists’ struggle between their own identity and society’s imposed views.

Point:  In particular, A Streetcar Named Desire highlights Blanche’s inability to conform to the new society’s suffocating values.

Quotes: “magic” “what ought to be the truth” “tearing it off” “paper” “good as a lamb” “lamb”

Analysis: Throughout, Blanche masks her real appearance and past, telling “magic” rather than “what ought to be the truth” -- shown by paper lantern, evidence of the plastic theatre created by Williams → symbolises her constant escape from New Orleans which prioritises blatant truth over an opulent presentation, eventually enclosing her → demonstrate lack of female freedom, as they lack power to face social conventions → action of Stanley -- embodiment of societal expectations, “tearing it off” shows temporary but never permanent escape from social norms → gives a glimpse into the desperation that Blanche’s forced into, unable to find peace, acceptance, and a sanctuary → gives audience impression that the loss of the highly-mannered and elegant lifestyle from the invasive society that violates the little power women possess → “paper” suggests fragility, weakness, and delicacy, mirroring Blanche’s mental state → Stanley ripping it off foreshadows his later physical violation, but also symbolise his intrusion into her safe haven while she’s stranded and weak, thus furthering the brutal nature of new society → Stella contrast Blanche, seeing Stanley “good as a lamb” despite domestic violence → purity & innocence connotations of “lamb” contrasting physical & primal nature of Stanley -- embodiment of society where the strongest is celebrated, contrasting the gracious Old South → Stella, unlike Blanche, has adapted and became animalistic, prioritising her lust -- Stanley, over family and tradition -- Blanche → the new society and values either change or destroy, with nothing in the middle, capturing Blanche’s powerless nature in the face of the societal conventions

Point: Similarly, A Doll’s House demonstrates Nora’s struggle between herself and the society’s imposed vision

Quotes: “my little skylark” “my songbird” “the Christmas tree now stripped and ‘bedraggled’”

Analysis:  Torvald repeatedly addresses Nora as “my little skylark” and “my songbird” → possessive pronoun shows power imbalance, connoting ownership as he diminishes Nora’s autonomy → reflecting societal expectation of Nora being Torvald’s subordinate, similar to the power that’s given to Stanley → symbolism of small creatures alludes to the reference of a child rather than a spouse and equal, with the seemingly endearing terms suggesting that Nora needs Torvald’s guidance and protection, parallel to Stella → repeated referral allows the audience to notice how normalised it is in the society → similarly to how domestic violence is normal in ASND → the wife is only able to defy silently -- Nora eating chocolate and macaroon symbolise her silent defiance and desire for freedom, connoting the oppressive nature of the marital expectations where she has to follow Torvald’s explicit orders despite a growing appetite for freedom; where the eventual outburst is shown through the X’mas tree → the tree is decorated in Act 1, symbolizing Nora’s festive and happy mood as she’s happy to be celebrating Christmas without worrying about money → fruit from the roles she’s been playing → the decorated Christmas tree helps establish a joyous mood with the audience → in the second act, “the Christmas tree now stripped and ‘bedraggled’”, symbolizing Nora’s distressed and disturbed mood after Nora defies the convention and strips away the facade of marriage → not only showing Nora's deterioration of her mental state as a result of confronting the societal expectations, denote the mental challenges that’ll be faced when defying the social convention → also visually represents how Nora is seen as a decorative object, her “purpose” is solely to add charm to the house and elevate the men’s status → connotes that the mood will only be joyous if the marital roles are fulfilled in accordance to society → but unlike Blanche getting her lantern ripped off, Nora makes a conscious decision and willingly removes the decorations, symbolising her rise in power and agency

Point of comparison 3:

Sound:

Finally, both playwrights employ sound to show the climax of the play, as each protagonist contrast the societal values at that time.

Point: In A Streetcar Named Desire, the “Blue piano” is introduced to demonstrate the enclosing and invasive society.

Quotes: “Blue piano” “negro piano players” “Blue” “rapid, feverish” “Varsouviana Polka” “loud bang”

Analysis: “Blue piano” appears in the first scene, representing the frantic and multicultural New Orleans with the “negro piano players”, showing the rise of a egalitarian society that excludes Blanche → evolving and thriving new culture contrasts Blanche’s deterioriating mental health and triggers her anxiety, foreshadowing her trouble as she’s shoved into new society → Irony with “Blue”, symbolising tranquillity, truth, sincerity; fitting to Blanche’s facade but polar opposite to her real self → echoes the irony & difference in the new and old, where the new only exist because of the old, yet it is so desparate in ridding of it → swinging tempo of the piano becomes “rapid, feverish” and grows louder when Stella talks about Belle Reve, matching Blanche’s mental state as it continues to deteriorate due to the inability to survive, can’t adjust from the transition from a society of elegance and subtleties to one of veracity and truth → shows audience the lack of female agency and independence → “Varsouviana Polka” appears whenever Blanche’s mental health deteriorates and seeks to fall back onto her delusions and fantasy, clinging onto the values of the old south → first appeared with the “loud bang” of the gunshot and Allan Grey’s death, marking the destruction of her life in Belle Reve -- the end of her peaceful and traditional life, which is also when the society begins to change and evolve without her → then appears when Mitch pushes Blanche away and tries to force himself onto her as she is no longer seen as a full person → marking her destruction of her life in New Orleans and the final straw of hope of surviving the new society slipping away, finalising her inability to fit in → finally played in the end when Blanche is escorted by the doctor → symbolising her complete defeat by the New Orleans society and its values, as it is unable to tolerate her → forcing her to receed back into her peace to find peace and comfort → shows a female’s lack of choice & dependence on a men

Point: On the other hand, Ibsen uses the Tarantella as the play reaches its climax, and Nora swirls into her true identity.

Quotes: “you are dancing as though your life depended on it.” “poison” “the street door is slammed shut” “doll”

Analysis: Throughout, Tarantella is used to please Torvald, admitting that it makes him desire and want her → Torvald, representing society, denote women is at their full beauty when she fulfil her role of entertaining the men, showing lack of female freedom in society → unlike Blue Piano, Tarantella is passionate, intense, and fiery, allowing Nora to reveal her true self, dropping the facade of a Victorian housewife → shown this becomes a symbolism for Nora’s escape, dancing “like [her] life depends on it” as she forces the “poison” that is the societal expectations out of her, dramatising the scene and the climax between her and the society → shows audience a tool used to conform her to society can also be used to allow her to escape → shows Nora’s abilities as an individual rather than a housewife, where this is the key to her escape → contrast Blanche, where despite she previously possessing skills as an individual, it’s been so broken by society that she can only use her looks to act as an ornament → connotes that Norwegian society is less invasive and direct, though still restrictive and overwhelming → this difference results in the final empathic stage direction of “The heavy sound of a door being slammed is heard from below”, as  Nora departs from her role, her home, her stage, marking her departure from her identity as a “doll” but emerge as a person → reminds the audience that the performance is not isolated from society, and the lack of female agenda is existing outside of the play