In ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and ‘Solar’ promiscuity is an important theme in both characters’ pasts that affects their later life. How far do you agree?
In ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and ‘Solar’ promiscuity is an important theme in both characters’ pasts that affects their later life. How far do you agree?
Promiscuity can be defined as having alternate sexual relations with various people; a trait which both characters can be seen to possess. They contrast in terms of the view that society has upon them. The beginning of the drama ‘A streetcar Named Desire’ (1947) Williams suggests to the audience that Blanche feels as though she has lost everything including her family, her fortune and her estate. However the audience are currently unaware of her promiscuity, so a judgement of her based on this is not yet formed. Later on in the play the audience also discover she lost her young husband to suicide years earlier and she is a social outcast due to being promiscuous. In the novel Solar (2010) Michael Beard on the other hand is an eminent, prize winning physicist. He’s portrayed as a wealthy character in the novel and travels all around the world, in contrast to Blanche; society does not view his character from such a negative perspective. However the characters do share similarities such as their love of alcohol and various emotionless flings. Promiscuity is presented as a negative force which shapes their future and partakes in their eventual fall.
At the beginning of scene one, the author suggests to the audience that Blanche’s sexual history is in fact the cause of her ruin. When she arrives at the Kowalskis’ Blanche tells them that they need to “take a street-car named Desire, and transfer to one called cemeteries, and ride six blocks and get off at—Elysian Fields!” This journey, the precursor to the play is there to allegorically represent the downfall of Blanche’s life. The Elysian Fields are described as the land of the dead in Greek mythology and in turn suggests that Blanche is in a depressive state. Blanche’s lifelong pursuit of her sexual desires has led to her eviction from Belle Reve, her
Promiscuity can be defined as having alternate sexual relations with various people; a trait which both characters can be seen to possess. They contrast in terms of the view that society has upon them. The beginning of the drama ‘A streetcar Named Desire’ (1947) Williams suggests to the audience that Blanche feels as though she has lost everything including her family, her fortune and her estate. However the audience are currently unaware of her promiscuity, so a judgement of her based on this is not yet formed. Later on in the play the audience also discover she lost her young husband to suicide years earlier and she is a social outcast due to being promiscuous. In the novel Solar (2010) Michael Beard on the other hand is an eminent, prize winning physicist. He’s portrayed as a wealthy character in the novel and travels all around the world, in contrast to Blanche; society does not view his character from such a negative perspective. However the characters do share similarities such as their love of alcohol and various emotionless flings. Promiscuity is presented as a negative force which shapes their future and partakes in their eventual fall.
At the beginning of scene one, the author suggests to the audience that Blanche’s sexual history is in fact the cause of her ruin. When she arrives at the Kowalskis’ Blanche tells them that they need to “take a street-car named Desire, and transfer to one called cemeteries, and ride six blocks and get off at—Elysian Fields!” This journey, the precursor to the play is there to allegorically represent the downfall of Blanche’s life. The Elysian Fields are described as the land of the dead in Greek mythology and in turn suggests that Blanche is in a depressive state. Blanche’s lifelong pursuit of her sexual desires has led to her eviction from Belle Reve, her