“A Streetcar Named Desire,”
written by Tennessee Williams, and “Antigone,” written by Sophocles, both
express an ongoing oppression towards the female gender. Women and oppression
have, most unfortunately, been hand in hand since the dawn of time, resulting
in the female gender having no say in politics, in the home, being paid less
than their male counterparts (in areas of the first world), and in society as a
whole. Although luckily the latter had significantly lessened as our culture
and species evolved mentally. In “Antigone,” Sophocles depicts the events of civil
war between brother Eteocles and Polyneices, who were competing for rule over
the Thebes. During the fight, both brothers die, and while Eteocles is honored
with burial, the same isn’t said for Polyneices, whose body is left in the
street to be desecrated by birds and man alike, which is the most offense thing
one man could do to another in ancient Greece. While not the same level of
severity as “Antigone,” “A Streetcar Named Desire” has its own sense of
oppression, since Blanche and Stella are both treated horribly by rhea abusive
Stanley, and they cannot do a thing about it due to the time period of the
piece and the piece’s reflection of the culture of the 1920s. Stella is beaten
and verbally abused by Stanley, and Blanche is literally raped her sister’s
husband near the end of the play, and Blanche is the one who is sent, while
Stanley continues his verbal abuse against the helpless Stella.
While the individuals
themselves aren’t the reason these issues arose, the culture and society of the
time is mainly to blame. Ancient Greece was completely male-dominated, with
women having no say in politics and often treated as property, not as humans.
Men in ancient Greece had final say; women could not interject in court, could
not be on a jury, couldn’t own land, were not allowed to speak under oath, and
weren’t able to participate in governmental affairs and have any form of
rights, even though foreigners and slaves could eventually earn their freedom
(Ancient Greece – Staff Room 1). However, women in the 1920s had begun their
protestation against their oppression and began to earn their rights as
citizens and individuals rather than a man’s property. While “A Streetcar Named
Desire” took place after the Women’s Rights Movement, they were still horribly
oppressed and not viewed as a serious individual, and, rather, as property.
During the feminist movement of the 1920s, women all across America rose up
against the oppression they were under, and were able to receive the same
rights as men, such as participating in government and being allowed to vote (Benner
1). However, women were still looked down upon, and were still discriminated against
even though they had basic rights.
The three women being
analyzed, while having a legion of external conflicts, also face conflicts
within themselves. Antigone was pulled by two equally important forces:
regional law, the written law of the city of Thebes, and moral law, the code of
laws she herself was following, the one that made her decide what was right and
what was wrong. In the end, she would face death by the hands of her ruthless uncle,
Creon, simply because she wanted to pay her brother the respect he deserved as
blood. Being the “Antigone” is a story of a tragic hero, Antigone is then hanged
in her ell, which is, by comparison to being stoned publically, a much more peaceful
death. Blanche and Stella have equally as difficult internal conflicts, the
former having her feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing, self-hatred and
low self-esteem. Blanche has, like most individual do in the past century or
so, a crisis of one-self; she sees herself as worthless, since she cannot meet
up to societies standards, the laws of the culture that can change daily, even
hourly, at a moment’s notice when something goes ‘out of style’ and something
swings right back I to take its place. Stella, meanwhile, needs to fight the strength
of her emotions, and the strength of logic. Stanley, since the beginning of
their marriage, beginning of their honeymoon, in fact has been verbally abusive
and violent towards his surroundings. He breaks things, destroys whatever is
around him simply because he cannot control his anger, his inner beast with the
flames of Hell raging inside it. He takes this anger out, eventually, on
Stella, and, during the time, women were subliminally told that, if they’re
abused by their spouse, that they must have done something and that they have
deserved it (luckily, that aspect of first world life has been eradicated).
Stella is torn between her lover for Stanley and being safe. Unfortunately, she
chose the abusive Stanley over her own safety.
Male dominance and female
oppression has, sadly, always been an aspect of life, from the small bands of
the earliest anatomically-modern humans to the dawn of the millennials.
However, while the ‘oppression’ may have been gender roles in our earliest
ancestors, such as men hunting animals for meat and women and weaker men
gathering fruits and berries (which doesn’t necessarily define oppression), as
our brains developed a larger sense of sentience and ego, the oppression became
more prevalent, with those not as physically strong or deemed ‘inferior’ to the
leaders being more oppressed. But what if this whole aspect of male-dominance
did not occur in our specie’s minds? What if, instead of seeing each other as
corporeal bodies, we saw each other as a consciousness, just as something we couldn’t
quite describe in words, and judge people based on their actions and words,
instead of their physical appearance that they have no say in at birth?
Antigone could have discussed Creon’s law, perhaps come to some form of
compromise, giving Polyneices the respect he deserves, while still showing the
people what happens if they repeat the actions that led to the civil war in
Thebes. Stella would have seen that Stanley was not the right person for her,
or anyone in his current state, and would’ve left for her own good. Stella
could have found a man that treated her with the respect and dignity that she
so rightfully deserves, not just as a woman, but as a human being. Perhaps the
whole concept of ‘gender roles’ and ‘societal perfection’ would not be in existence,
resulting in more people accepting themselves for who they are, not as what
social media has to say, which would have made Blanche more accepting of her
body, and not continuously trying to find a man to satiate her hunger for attention
and love and acceptance that society has pushed upon her since birth.
Looking at modern-day
Earth and the countries and cultures residing on this beautiful planet,
oppression continues to this day: women in the middle east cannot attend school;
they are forbidden an education die to their national religion, and the people
in power oppress them and view them as ‘inferior’ due to something they couldn’t
control. People, not just women, are bound by a timeless caste system in India.
‘Untouchable,” as they’re called, are lower than slaves on the social
hierarchy, not even being inside the hierarchy ‘pyramid,’ but, instead, outside
it, not even being worthy of anything other than a walking toilet cleaner, who
doesn’t receive payment, but instead must wear raggedy clothes as old as their
wearer, and footwear made out of discarded one-liter bottles. The Islamic
community in china, those with a physical or mental handicap all over the
world, the Palestinians in Israel, and those of the Jewish community in Islamic
states (10 Oppressed Minorities Around the World 1), are all oppressed, often
being beaten and murdered, mistreated, and looked down upon like one would look
upon the decayed carcass of a bird on the street. Oppression is everywhere on
Earth, and we, as a species, mist eradicate it; we have eradicated diseases,
and sadly, other species of the planet with overhunting and pollution. Homo sapiens is horrendously overdue for
an eradication of discrimination and oppression
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