SCARLET LETTER THEATRE PRESENTS DEATH & the maiden A TENNESSEE WILLIAMS PRODUCTION Friday, February 1, 2013
PRESENTED BY THE CJC LITERATURE TEAM a NIGEL NA e NIGEL NA k NIGEL NA l DAVID FAHY l MARC LIM n TENNESSEE WILLIAMS AND NUMEROUS OTHER DEAD PEOPLE w NIGEL NA AT 2AM IN THE MORNING Friday, February 1, 2013
Quod fv imus , es tjs q uod sumus , vos eri tjs Friday, February 1, 2013
concept: death • death’s appearance in art symbolises: • the demise of the living, obviously • the inevitable • equality Friday, February 1, 2013
technique: juxtaposition • Cultural association of youth, beauty, and femininity • Juxtaposition of morbidity and maidenhood • A particular horror associated with ageing women Friday, February 1, 2013
death becomes her Friday, February 1, 2013
• the social order • does it support or resist positive self- identification by women? • patriarchy • do we sympathise with Bruce Willis? • the male gaze/the beauty consensus • do women get to decide what beauty is? • what is a woman worth? • upon what does her value depend? Friday, February 1, 2013
application of concept • Blanche embodies both dualities of decay and desire • On the wrong side of thirty • Still coquettish and coy • Associated themes: • Age // Youth, Time • Reality // Illusion Friday, February 1, 2013
decaying dowager “But on the other hand men lose interest quickly. Especially when a girl is over -- thirty.” Blanche, Sc. 5, p47 Symbolism • Light, the painted lantern • Light usually represents clarity, truth, literal and metaphorical illumination and enlightenment • Blanche, however, has an aversion to light, because she knows it can destroy her illusions • Her aversion begins with her husband’s suicide Friday, February 1, 2013
Symbolism • Blanche’s all-white clothes make her seem like a moth (Sc 1, p5) • The moth is drawn to the flame: its desire is the source of its demise. Paradox, irony • The symbol of the moth illustrates both the death-wish and the pleasure-principle (Thanatos and Eros) • Freudian psychoanalytic theory Friday, February 1, 2013
disingenuous ingenue “You make my mouth water.” - Sc 5, p49 • When not playing the victim, Blanche assumes a predatory attitude, especially concerning men • She seduces them not with sex, but with deception Friday, February 1, 2013
• She baits the young paperboy by invoking the fantastical: “you look like a young prince out of the Arabian Nights” • She also appeals to Mitch’s aspirations towards propriety by romanticising his gestures: “My Rosenkavalier! Bow to me first! Now present them.” Friday, February 1, 2013
F antasy ... & fin amour Friday, February 1, 2013
• Blanche’s self-identification as a tragic heroine is dependent upon her victimhood • She very strongly emphasises how she has suffered and projects an air of wounded vulnerability • If we deprive her of peripety, do we still experience any sympathy for her? Friday, February 1, 2013
STANLEY rapes BLANCHE and because he is a manly man and she is a deceitful temptress this is GOOD and BLAMELESS BLANCHE commits statutory rape with a minor when she seduces a 17 year old boy. Despite that he is a male teenager and she is a WILF this is BAD and SUCKS FOREVER Friday, February 1, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Comparison questions Othello • The characters of Streetcar have their motivations and desires fairly well- developed. What do the characters of Othello desire? What motivates them? • What does Iago want? • Why does Desdemona allow Othello to kill her without struggle? • Discuss the role of Emilia in Othello . Friday, February 1, 2013
“When I have pluck’d the rose, I cannot give it vital growth again. It must needs wither.” Friday, February 1, 2013
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