Duchess and Streetcar Critics Flashcards
(20 cards)
What is Tennessee Williams’ major theme in his work?
The destructive power of society on the sensitive non-conformist individual.
How does Tennessee Williams view the use of transparencies and music in theatre?
He considers them valid instruments of expression in the theatre as words.
What impact did Marlon Brando’s appearance have according to Gore Vidal?
It caused an earthquake.
How is Stella’s sexuality characterized by Nina Liebman?
It is approved because she is sexual in response to her husband, being the passive respondent.
What does Felicia Londre suggest about Blanche handing papers to Stanley?
It reflects the evolution of the social system to post-war urban-industrial society.
What perspective does Albert Wertheim provide on Stanley Kowalski?
brutish and insensitive characters.
What type of characters does Tennessee Williams write about?
He writes of ‘little people’ who feel and live with intensity.
What does Patricia Hern suggest about Blanche’s character?
She may be a ‘cover’ for a male character, a homosexual, given a female mask by Williams.
How does Lewis Theobald describe the Duchess’ death in Act 4?
It is seen as too soon, yet her absence leaves the play rudderless.
What does Rupert Brooke say about realism in characters?
Characters gain realism if they act on instinct, like people in real life.
What does M.C. Bradbook say about the Duchess in legal and ethical terms?
In law, she was innocent, but by ethical and religious standards, she was an instinctive creature awakened by suffering.
What does Lee Bliss say about the Duchess’ pursuit of happiness?
She seeks private happiness at the expense of public stability.
How is the Duchess characterized by Lisa Jardine?
She is metamorphosed from an ideal mirror of virtue into a lascivious whore.
What does Frank Whigham say about the threatened aristocrat?
He is frightened by the contamination of his social rank.
What does Christina Luckyj say about murder in the context of patriarchy?
Startlingly casual murder is an exaggeration of forces that regularly destroy women in the real world.
Sean McEvoy’s views on Ferdinand’s relationship with the duchess? How he…
clearly harbours incestuous feelings for his sister
Sean McEvoy on Ferdinand as a character in his own right?
creepy, vicious and vengeful
T.S Eliot on the nature of the play?
directed towards chaos
Sean McEvoy on Blanche
over-sexed neurotic
Sean McEvoy on Desire
A vehicle that carries people to its fated destination
