Tennessee Williams Stories
Throughout the stories of A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams and A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, the different characters that are portrayed throughout the stories are well defined as to why they are who they are and how their fragileness, gullible ness, fakeness, and evilness, can lead to the ultimate stereotype of all the characters. Blanche, Stella and Nora are portrayed as three very different characters, but in reality, they are more similar than anyone ever imagined. In Isben's, A Dolls House, Nora, the protagonist is treated like a doll - the property of Torvald Helmer. In Act I, there are many clues that hint at the kind of marriage Nora and Torvald have. It seems that Nora is a doll controlled by Torvald. She relies on him for everything, from movements to thoughts, much like a puppet that is dependent on its puppet master for all of its actions. The most obvious example of Torvald's physical control over Nora is his re-teaching her the tarantella. Nora pretends that she needs Torvald to teach her every move in order to relearn the dance. This act shows her submissiveness to Torvald. After he teaches her the dance, he proclaims "When I saw you dance the tarantella, like a huntress, a temptress, my blood
Either way, Stella's actions displease her sister immensely, and Blanche can't quite fathom how her sister could accept the state of her life in their household. Blanche is very traditional, and believes in the ideals of money and plantations and gentlemen callers from the "Old South." Even though much of Blanche is a fabrication, one virtuous aspect of her personality is her determination to "save" her sister from the man whom she deems unworthy. Maybe most of what Blanche says in the play is in fact a complete lie; she was still very intent on the notion that her sister deserved no such situation. What frustrated her most was her sister's inability to comprehend the situation she is in with Stanley. The torment seems so clear and vivid to Blanche, and it kills her to know that her sister sees nothing wrong with her condition, that it's just the way it is. grew hot, I couldn't stand it any longer"(1530), showing how he is more interested in Nora physically than emotionally. When Nora responds by saying, "Leave me, Torvald! Get away form me! I don't want all this"(1530), Torvald asks, "Aren't I your husband?"(1530). By saying this, he is implying that one of Nora's duties, as his wife is to physically pleasure him at his command. To understand the character of Stella, one must realize that she is a definite character with no real hidden truths. She knows this, and does nothing. She is non-confrontational, especially when it comes to her husband. Stella is a meek person and allows Stanley do to as he pleases-even if it is severely detrimental-so long as it wouldn't produce a heated situation. She has a hard time understanding Blanche's "mission" to save their relationship, even if she thought there was something worth saving to begin with. The only aspect ambiguous in Stella's nature is whether she was passive by nat
Some common words found in the essay are:
Enter Blanche, Maybe Blanche, Torvald Nora, Nora Krogstad, Torvald Torvald, Stella Drawing, Torvald Aren't, Henrik Ibsen, Desire Williams, South Blanche, torvald nora, blanche traditional, physically emotionally, named desire, nora's duties, streetcar named desire, streetcar named, nora money, throughout stories,
Approximate Word count = 1243
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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