(Streetcar/Duchess) Secrecy
- Created by: NHow02
- Created on: 12-03-19 09:17
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- Secrecy
- Malfi
- Status
- 'you were too much i'th'light'
- Virtue is often described in this period as that which 'shines forth'
- The Duchess' name is never mentioned, suggesting her title/ publicity defines her
- Duchess is virtuous and yet not associated with virginity
- Widows believed to be dangerous and sexual predators
- Leggatt believes in the Duchess' 'variety and vitality of her nature as a whole.'
- 'diamonds are of most value, they say, that have passed through most jeweller's hands'
- 'Jeweller's hands' - moulded into a 'feminine ideal' OR her virtue is improved with sexual experience
- Defined by materialism and wealth. (Webster fails to give her a name - a prize to be won)
- 'I winked and chose a husband'
- 'winked' creates a flirtatious effect + shows her autonomous personality
- 'Hysteria' is derived from the Latin word 'Hyster' meaning 'womb'
- Highborn 'Renaissance marriages' were practical matters and used for alliances
- 'winked' creates a flirtatious effect + shows her autonomous personality
- 'Jeweller's hands' - moulded into a 'feminine ideal' OR her virtue is improved with sexual experience
- 'cover her face...mine eyes dazzle'
- Elizabethan belief that when one twin dies the other's soul does as well
- Eyes are typically seen as 'windows to the soul'
- In this moment, Ferdinand distances himself from his sister (her goodness exposed his darkness)
- Elizabethan belief that when one twin dies the other's soul does as well
- 'you were too much i'th'light'
- Corruption
- 'I have this night digged up a mandrake'
- Aphrodisiac + poison (once uprooted it drives someone insane)
- In unearthing his sister's secrets he reveals his own incestuous feelings
- Elizabeth & Parker reinforced the rules of the Leviticus in 1563
- In unearthing his sister's secrets he reveals his own incestuous feelings
- Repetitive use of nighttime/ darkness, creates a superstitious effect
- ForeshadowsFerdinand's lycanthropia (creates devilish/ beastial effect)
- Ferdinand gave in to his baser instincts of 'ambition blood or lust'
- Mental illness was associated with lack of morals (possessed by the Devil)
- TS Eliot: Webster always saw the 'skull beneath the skin'
- Webster uses this play to reflect the secrecy & corruption of the English court
- TS Eliot: Webster always saw the 'skull beneath the skin'
- Mental illness was associated with lack of morals (possessed by the Devil)
- Ferdinand gave in to his baser instincts of 'ambition blood or lust'
- Aphrodisiac + poison (once uprooted it drives someone insane)
- 'cover her face...mine eyes dazzle'
- Elizabethan belief that when one twin dies the other's soul does as well
- Eyes are typically seen as 'windows to the soul'
- In this moment, Ferdinand distances himself from his sister (her goodness exposed his darkness)
- Elizabethan belief that when one twin dies the other's soul does as well
- 'I have this night digged up a mandrake'
- Status
- Streetcar
- The Bath Motif
- 'I think I will bathe...my nerves are in knots'
- 'knots' also represent dilemmas, suggesting Blanche is a problem
- Symbolism of 'knot' represents promises & vows, such as Blanche's marriage
- Widows believed to be dangerous and sexual predators
- Williams: 'destructive power of society on the sensitive non-conformist individual'
- 'knots' also represent dilemmas, suggesting Blanche is a problem
- 'peels of laughter are heard as if a child were frolicking in the tub'
- The homophone 'peels' suggests Blanche is ********* away her sins as well as reality
- Reminiscent of Lady Macbeth, who is stained by her sins (seeking purity)
- Child-like image suggests she is seeking rejuvenation as if the bath was a 'fountain of youth'
- Blanche wants to wash away/forget everything, and is in turn forgotten
- Williams' sister was admitted to an insane asylum and subject to a lobotomy
- The homophone 'peels' suggests Blanche is ********* away her sins as well as reality
- 'I think I will bathe...my nerves are in knots'
- Southern Belle
- 'sunken treasures'/ 'treasure chest of a pirate!'
- After the Civil War, Southern wealth melted away as slave labour was abolished by Lincoln in 1863
- Shawn Alff describes the play as a 'heathens paradise'
- The American Dream
- Stanley benefits from the patriarchy just as Blanche benefitted from slavery
- Shawn Alff describes the play as a 'heathens paradise'
- Stanley is digging up Blanche's past. 'treasures' suggests he delights in her downfall
- Suggests Blanche's past prosperity opposes Stanley's socialist view
- 'Rhinestone Tiara'
- Juxtaposition of cheapness with a royal symbol creates an affected effect
- Ironic image - wants to be seen as a 'queen' of high society
- Patriarchal/ social opinions would view her as of the lowest class, no better than a prostitute
- After the Civil War, Southern wealth melted away as slave labour was abolished by Lincoln in 1863
- 'sunken treasures'/ 'treasure chest of a pirate!'
- The Bath Motif
- Malfi
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