A Labor of Love?

Good afternoon! Today's topic of discussion is the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. More specifically, I will be focusing on the female characters Stella and Blanche.

http://www.movie8k.me/A-Streetcar-Named-Desire-watch-movie-5183.html

I was personally shocked by the play's conclusion. It is truly heart-breaking that after all of the verbal abuse and the sexual assault that Blanche had received from Stanley, that her sister would send her away to a place full of strangers where she would be treated as a mental case. Although Blanche was a victim of rape, in my opinion, her mentality did not fit the stigma of those with mental illnesses who would be sent to asylums during this time period. Blanche was merely a victim of the situation. She had nothing but love in her heart from the time she was a young woman, but she was forced into bad habits by people who cared nothing of her feelings. She also had experienced trauma with her husband's death, and coped the only way she knew how. 

If I had been in Stella's position, my first thought upon hearing of Blanche's rape would have been to divorce Stanley. The more reasonable course of action would have been to move away from the house. Unfortunately, if Stella had decided to end things with Stanley, she could not kick him out of the house. For Stanley was the man and that was his home, although the home was more of a shared living space. In addition, it would have been difficult for Stella and Blanche to find a new start. Blanche had lost the ownership of the old estate, The next best choice would be to find housing with a friend, but there was no indication in the play that this would be a viable option.

Overall, I really questioned Stella's morals after she made it seem as if she had no choice but to send Blanche away. In addition, I would not have been able to live with a husband who had done something so inexcusable to my sister.

I thought to myself what it would be like if Blanche had written from the mental institution to Stella. This is my best interpretation: 

My dearest Stella,

I am writing you for the fourth time now. I am sure that you have received my previous letters, but are unable to find the words to respond right now. I know that what I told you had to have been difficult to hear. You are such a good girl, and did not deserve such a sorrowful existence. Is the baby doing well? Oh, how I long to hold the child in my arms. It has been four months now since I have seen your face, and it is causing me great agony. I saw the pain in your eyes as well the day that they took me away. At first, I resisted, but I became calm when I came to the realization that you were sending me to a safe haven. Surely, you did not want me to be around for the violence when you told Stanley that you had to depart. That must have been much to endure, but I am proud of you, my dear. Please write to me soon and tell me your current place of residence. I hope to be with you again soon.

Sometimes I feel faint and I begin to think that my being here is a consequence for all that I have done. I believe my kissing that boy who resembled an Arabian prince was the last straw, and that this is my karma. But I know that someone will come for me soon...

I have not thought about Mitch at all. He is as much as an ape as Stanley. Looking back, he never treated me the way a man ought to treat a lady.

Before I go, could you please send this message along to Shep Huntleigh-

In a desperate situation. Send for me in the yacht. I will be wearing lavender. Sincerely, Miss Dubois. 

I must go now. They are telling me that my time to write is over. They will take this letter from me and send it to you. I do hope to hear from you this time...

With Love, Blanche.

http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-do-a-streetcar-name-desire-and-blue-jasmine-express-different-messages

In my interpretation, Blanche believes that Stella has left Stanley, but in reality she has stayed with him. She also believes that her letters are being sent to Stella, but they are being held by the orderlies at the institution. Blanche still holds onto the delusion that Shep Huntleigh will come for her. There is little hope that Blanche will leave soon.

What is your interpretation of the play's conclusion? What events are to follow? Would the course of action taken by Stella be accepted by today's standards? 

Until next time!

When Love Turns into Loneliness

Good evening once again! Today I will be exploring some darker topics, which include loneliness, lost love, and even murder. The two pieces I will be discussing are "Mother," an excerpt from Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson and "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner. I will be comparing two female characters: Elizabeth Willard from the Anderson story and Emily Grierson from the Faulkner story.

If you have read both of these stories, you can tell that both Elizabeth and Emily are suffering. The two are both extremely reserved and possibly a little mentally disturbed, even more so on Emily's part. These women have gone from vibrant, outgoing young souls to ghastly shells of their former selves, because of the actions of a man. In Elizabeth's case, this man is her husband. In Emily's case, this man is her father.

Elizabeth Willard is a very lonely woman. She feels as if her inner self is dead, she has failed to establish a bond with her son, no one from her youth has stayed by her side, and she has grown to hate her husband. Why? Simply because he has decimated her deepest dreams. She had aspired to be a member of the theater, but that part of her had died once she married Tom Willard. It can be assumed that Tom told her that her dreams would not lead her to success, because she witnesses him do the same thing with their son, George. Elizabeth has sympathy for George, who wishes to be a writer.
The story of Emily Grierson is equally sad. Once a beloved, wealthy southern belle, Emily has become an absolute recluse since the death of her father and the diminishing of her high status. During her youth, Emily's father had always driven away her potential suitors. Therefore, she has never experienced romantic love. In addition, as she becomes more and more of an eccentric, members of the older generation speak badly of her, and members of the newer generation will not send their children to her home for china-painting classes. There is a smell that emanates from Emily's home and she is disconnected from the community.

After reading both of these pieces, one has to consider the topic of love.

http://www.lovethispic.com/image/75585/lost-love

It is possible that Tom Willard had adored Elizabeth in the initial years of their marriage, but as the years passed, he might have expressed his discontent with her aspirations. This disrespect of her dreams may have very well become a deep emotional wound for Elizabeth, and may have destroyed any respect she had for her husband, especially when she overhears him telling George that he needs to "wake up." It is very likely that her preparing to almost murder Tom in a theatrical manner was a result of this emotional abuse.
Similarly, one can assume that Emily's father had driven away all of her potential suitors out of love. Maybe he did not want them to hurt her, or maybe he believed that they could not support her or did not come from their same social class. In his eyes, he may have been doing her a service. However, doing so had clearly scarred Emily. Her need for love drives her to desperation when she poisons Homer and sleeps next to his corpse every night until her own death.

So, to recap, Elizabeth Willard has fallen out of love with her husband who has cast both her and her son into loneliness. This, in turn, has caused Elizabeth to loose love for herself, since she never stands up to Tom or tries to reclaim her life.
Emily Gierson has never experienced true romantic love. At the same time, she has lost her father, the only man who has ever seemed to genuinely show her love, even if that love was shown in a way with which she did not agree. Lastly, the home that had once housed her loveless life later becomes a place to trap love when she kills Homer so that she can always have him by her side.

Finally, let's take a look at the endings of both stories. While doing this, keep this question in mind: Did these women eventually receive what they wanted in life?
At the end of "Mother," George tells his mother Elizabeth that he must leave home. He wants to go and find himself and to free himself from his father's reign. The following passage depicts her reaction to this news:
"In the room the silence became unbearable to the woman. She wanted to cry out with joy because of the words that had come from the lips of her son, but the expression of joy had become impossible to her" (p. 811)
Although Elizabeth is unable to express her joy, shes still feels it. She has not been able to achieve her own dreams, but she is happy that at least her son is going to. She lives vicariously though him. I believe that she had a happy ending.
The conclusion of "A Rose for Emily," consists of the townspeople raiding the upstairs room of Emily's home after her death and finding Homer's corpse in the bed and a strand of Emily's gray hair on the pillow next to it. Frankly, this ending was disturbing. However, viewing it from Emily's perspective, she had received eternal love, plain and simple.

http://ofblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/william-faulkner-rose-for-emily.html

If I were to choose a favorite between these two stories, it would be "A Rose for Emily" because of its unique narrative style and shocking conclusion.

My question for you today is do you believe these two women ultimately found true happiness? Which of these stories do you like most, and why?

I hope everyone has a great week!

An Obsession with Wealth

Good afternoon! Today I am going to be discussing the similarities between female characters in two works by F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby and "Winter Dreams."
I'd like to point out a few striking resemblances between Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby and Judy Jones from "Winter Dreams."

http://ggcaenglish.weebly.com/f-scott-fitzgerald.html

First off, both of these woman have physical attributes that make them absolutely irresistible to the men who adore them. Here is a passage from The Great Gatsby which describes Daisy's captivating voice:
"Daisy began to sing with the music in a husky, rhythmic whisper, bringing out a meaning in each word that it had never had before and would never have again. When the melody rose her voice broke up sweetly, following it, in a way contralto voices have, and each change tipped out a little of her warm human magic upon the air" (Fitzgerald 99).

 Judy Jones, on the other hand, has a face whose beauty is almost unearthly:
"There was a general ungodliness in the way her lips twisted down at the corners when she smiles and in the -Heaven help us! -in the almost passionate quality of her eyes. Vitality is born early in such women. It was utterly in evidence now, shining through her thin frame in a sort of glow" (Fitzgerald, 1011).


Secondly, both of these women have homes that possess their male counterparts with absolute awe and fascination. The intriguing part here, however, is the fact these men (Gatsby and Dexter, respectively) are in such awe because these homes represent the women that they love and their wealth makes them even more valuable.
Consider this passage from The Great Gatsby:
"It amazed him -he had never been in such a beautiful house before. But what gave it an air of breathless intensity was that Daisy lived there -it was a s casual a thing to her as his tent out at camp was to him" (Fitzgerald, 130).

A very similar line can be found in "Winter Dreams":
"He received, however, an enduring impression that the house was the most elaborate he had ever seen. He had known for a long time that it was the finest on Lake Erminie, with a Pompeiian swimming pool and twelve acres of lawn and garden. But what gave it an air of breathless intensity was the sense that it was inhabited by Judy Jones -that it was as casual a thing to her as the little house in the village had once been to Dexter" (Fitzgerald, 1016).
I found it utterly amazing that Fitzgerald uses what is nearly an exact quote in these sections! It is pretty clear now that the story of Gatsby and Daisy is essentially the same story of Dexter and Judy.


My final point is the fact that Both Daisy and Judy represent high class in the eyes of their male counterparts, so much so that they sacrifice large portions of their life to attain these women and their wealthy lifestyle. The moment that these men commit to their sacrifice or "journey" is finalized with a kiss.
The kiss between Gatsby and Daisy is described here:
"Her porch was bright with the bought luxury of star-shine; the wicker of the settee squeaked fashionably as she turned toward him and he kissed her curious and lovely mouth. She had caught a cold and it made her voice huskier and more charming than ever and Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, of the freshness of many clothes and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor" (Fitzgerald 131).

The kiss between Dexter and Judy:
"Suddenly she turned her dark eyes directly upon him and the corners of her mouth drooped until her face seemed to open like a flower. He dared scarcely to breathe, he had the sense that she was exerting some force upon him; making him overwhelmingly conscious of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, the freshness of many clothes, of cool rooms and gleaming things, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.
The porch was bright with the bought luxury of starshine. The wicker of the settee squeaked fashionably when he put his arm around her, commanded by her eyes. He kissed her curious and lovely mouth and committed himself to the following of a grail" (Fitzgerald, 1017-1018).

Again, I have highlighted the portions that are of nearly the exact same wording. I read The Great Gatsby before I had read "Winter Dreams," and initially I did not notice the fact that Fitzgerald essentially copies text from "Winter Dreams" and, after changing the wording to fit the new characters, uses it in The Great Gatsby. I had to look at both of these works a second time in detail before I noticed the striking similarities between these passages. Of course, there is nothing wrong with Fitzgerald doing this, as it is all his own work, and does not count as plagiarism. However, this has spurred some questions in my mind.

What caused Fitzgerald to tell essentially the same story twice? Are Daisy and Judy basically Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda, who came from a prominent family? How much of these two tales is autobiographical? Why was Fitzgerald seemingly obsessed with the wealthy life? I will leave you with a quote from Ernest Hemingway's story "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" which comments on an interaction with Fitzgerald, whom is referred to as "Julian" in this piece:

http://ggcaenglish.weebly.com/f-scott-fitzgerald.html

"The rich were dull and they drank too much, or they played too much backgammon. They were dull and they were repetitious. He remembered poor Julian and his romantic awe of them and how he had started a story once that began, "The very rich are different from you and me." And how some one had said to Julian, Yes, they have more money. But that was not humorous to Julian. He thought they were a special glamorous race and when he found they weren't it wrecked him just as much as any other thing that wrecked him" (Hemingway, 1080).


Source for quotations from The Great Gatsby:

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925. Print.

Source for quotations from "Winter Dreams" and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro":

The Norton Anthology: American Literature 1865 to the Present. Shorter seventh edition. Volume 2.