Violence, Disruption, and Love PDF

Violence, Distruption and Love The uses of violence as forms of control and expression of identity: - Blanche uses symbolic violence, such as insults and manipulation, to assert power over Stanley and mask her fragility. “Heterogenous types?” “Pol**ks” “Theres some...

Violence, Distruption and Love The uses of violence as forms of control and expression of identity: - Blanche uses symbolic violence, such as insults and manipulation, to assert power over Stanley and mask her fragility. “Heterogenous types?” “Pol**ks” “Theres something downright bestial about him!” “He acts like an animal, he has animal habits” Her reliance on illusion is an indirect way to challenge Stanley’s dominance. “ I don’t want realism, I want magic!” - AO3: Reflects societal tensions post-WWII, where traditional male dominance was threatened by emerging female autonomy. - AO4: Compare to the Cardinal in Malfi, who uses violence to assert control over Julia, highlighting similar themes of gendered power struggles. - AO5: Critics argue Blanche’s symbolic violence is an act of self-preservation, while Stanley’s physical violence represents patriarchal oppression. - Stanley embodies patriarchal control, using physical violence to dominate Stella in the poker scene and assert sexual control over Blanche (in the rape scene The poker night scene demonstrates Stanley’s brute physicality as a means of dominating Stella. ‘Gave a loud whack on her thigh’ “You cant beat on a woman and call her back”(Eunice) “Tiger tiger-easy, weve had this date since the beginning - Tennessee Williams uses animalistic imagery (“ape-like”) to emphasize Stanley’s primal violence, contrasting Blanche’s sophistication.  - AO3: Reflects post-war anxieties about masculinity and the fragile post-war family dynamic. - AO4: Stanley’s violence parallels Ferdinand in Malfi, who uses a mix of physical and psychological violence to control the Duchess. “I am resolved.. All the mad folk and place them near her lodgings” “ How doth our sister Duchess bear herself in her imprisonment” - AO5: Modern feminist interpretations see Stanley’s violence as a critique of unchecked male dominance. - Ferdinand- uses physical and mental violence to attempt to control the Duchess which is driven by incestuous envy, power struggles, and a desire to control her choices. AO2: Symbolism of Ferdinand’s lycanthropy reflects his descent into madness, a physical manifestation of his violent obsession. “ Damn her, that body of hers” “This is my father’s poniard, do you see?” “Such melancholy behaviour”(doctor) “Dig dead bodies up” AO3: Reflects Jacobean concerns with female chastity and male honor. AO4: Like Stanley, Ferdinand’s violence serves as a tool to assert patriarchal control, but his psychological torment adds depth to his cruelty. AO5: Critics often read Ferdinand’s violence as emblematic of toxic aristocratic power structures. - Bosola - Cardinal- uses physical violence to control Julia The disruptive function of the outsider:  - Bosola- he is an outsider within the court especially to Cardinal and Ferdinand, by listening to them he breeds disruption - Duchess- she is a woman with an imperial duty thus making her innately marginalised for her gender and loathed for the power she retains causing disruption in the court Blanche’s arrival as a tragic heroine triggers chaos in the Kowalski household, disrupting the tenuous stability between Stanley and Stella. AO2: Williams uses Blanche’s flamboyant, delicate mannerisms to juxtapose the raw energy of Stanley, creating dramatic tension. ‘She is incongruous to her setting, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party’ ‘She was daintily dressed ina white fluffy bodice’ “Cut the re-bop”(Stanley) “Don’t play so dumb, you know what– wheres the papers?” AO3: Reflects the post-war clash between old Southern gentility and the rise of the working-class urbanite. AO4: Blanche’s disruption parallels the Duchess in Malfi, whose independent choices unsettle the male-dominated court. “Why shouli of all the princes in the world be cased up like a holy relic?” “I am duchess of malfi still!” AO5: Critics see Blanche as both a victim and an agent of chaos, underlining the inevitability of her destruction in a patriarchal society. - Antonio- is marriage with the Duchess as he is not apart of her class aids in the distruption Different forms of love: - Mitch + Blanche- transactional relationship offering stability AO1: Their relationship is transactional—Mitch offers security, while Blanche uses him to escape her past.  AO2: Blanche’s flirtatious language contrasts with her moments of vulnerability, revealing her desperation. “In all my experience- i havenever known anyone like you” ‘Mitch crosses to the switch. He turns the light on and stares at her. She cries out and covers her face. He turns the light off again.’ -Emphasises Blanche’s exposure and her vulnerability to Mitch which he uses to destroy her self-esteem. “The “Varsouviana”? The polka tune they were playing when Allan— — Wait! A distant revolver is heard There now, the shot! it always stops after that.” (Blanche) AO3: Reflects societal pressures on women to find stability through marriage. AO4: Compare to Antonio and the Duchess, whose love, though genuine, is also constrained by societal judgment. “Venus had to soft doves to draw her chariot , i must have another” “ A slave who only smelled of ink and counters and never ins life looked like a gentlemen” AO5: Critics argue Blanche’s manipulative tendencies stem from survival instincts, while Mitch represents disillusioned masculinity. - Stella + Blanche- familial love, sisterly but it is conditional - Stanley + Stella- toxic, sexually charged and desructive - Ferdinands love for the Duchess- incestous, power driven, envious - Duchess+ Antonio- unconditional love - Duchess + Cariola- sisterly love that is unconditional