streetcar/virginia woolf
In both, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "A Streetcar name Desire", the roles of sex and power are of paramount importance and are a constant feature throughout the play. The emergence of certain characters from these two plays are emphasised by the way they portray sex and power. These two concepts are of great importance individually to the plays, but they are also linked, and work in unison to create the situations and relationships which the authors intend to explore. Whilst there are similarities in which sex and power are used in both of these texts, there are differences, which create different impressions of the people in the plays. This integral role of the characters mean that sex and power can be explored in numerous ways which develop ideas of gender conflict, physical attributes as tools of power and also the varying scale of significance that sex and power can contribute.At the beginning of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?", a description of the characters is given, something which is to be vital to the themes and ideas surrounding the play. This shows the sexuality of the characters by merely stating their appearance. By calling George, "thin; hair going grey" and Nick, "well-put-together, good looking", we
He says, "I am going to be the wave of the future", and whilst this can be seen as a joke, it destroys all variety and art, something which George stands for. Overall, as illustrated in, "A Streetcar named Desire" and, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?", sex and power are very closely linked. Again, we see sex to be very strongly linked with power, and also the two ways in which sex can be used to achieve this power. However, when the characters are introduced to the play, they are still described in a manor that conjures sexual images such as the, "delicate" Blanche and the, "gentle" Stella. It is a constant feature of the play and is treated as another power struggle between the couple. Ultimately in these two plays, they appear as one idea;- power is sex, and sex is power. However, George has the ability, which he shows through humour, to undermine Martha and stop her plans, which suggests he has the extreme power amongst the two. This is because in reality they are unable to have children, therefore need to create one in order to confirm their sexuality, but this is flawed. This is shown by the way in which she says, "whoever you are - I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" as if to tell the audience that she could never depend on those she loved most. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?" also sees sexuality becoming more important. In this respect, this concept would have a far greater impact on the future of society and civilisation than all the amount of sexual games, including the, "fantasy" child. We see the power of exposing Martha's dormant sexuality as the decisive factor in swinging the balance of power in favour of George. Hence she is frustrated that she is exposed on two levels, on a literal level by strong light, and on a metaphorical level by strong light which is portrayed through a deep insight into her past, as uncovered by Stanley. Whilst Stella isn't a particularly powerful character within the play, she is the only one who is emotionally linked with both Stanley and Blanche. For example, the sexual games that occur between George, Martha, Honey and Nick only works on a micro level.
Common topics in this essay:
Virginia Woolf,
Stanley Blanche,
Bette Davis,
George Martha,
Woolf Streetcar,
Martha George's,
Martha George,
Blanche Stanley's,
Stella Stanley,
Honey Nick,
sex power,
virginia woolf,
afraid virginia,
afraid virginia woolf,
who's afraid virginia,
who's afraid,
streetcar named desire,
named desire,
streetcar named,
power relationship,
strong light,
constant feature,
fantasy child,
level strong light,
characters streetcar named,
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Acceptance Essays
