Women in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire and Arthur Miller

Women in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire and Arthur Millers Death of a SalesmanThe part of Stella and Linda are both archetypal distaff figures inthat they follow the typical fictional role of the submissive wife andmother. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Stella DuBois (renamed Mrs.Stanley Kowalski) concurs and forgives her husband, defending himagainst any criticism. Likewise, in Death of a Salesman, Linda - the save female character with any import - is a meek, timid figure aroundher husband. This weakness is underscored by the sentence structureand diction that for each one character uses when in conflict with theirhusband. As both Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller are men, it canbe seen that their female characters tend to be what men would desirein women, without giving a too-accurate portrayal of an actual person.Stella and Linda are both symbols of the deferential wife and mother,not convincing portraits of women.Stella and Linda are both thought of only in rela tion to the othercharacters. They exist to support their husbands and defend them fromother characters. Both Stella and Linda attempt to blind themselves totheir husbands flaws, and apologize to other characters for theirhusbands actions. When Stanley gets drunk, smashes the radio andwindow, and hits Stella, Stella must apologize to Blanche forStanleys fashion Hes half-drunk He didnt know what he wasdoing... He was as good as a lamb when I came back and hes reallyvery, very ashamed of himself. on the whole that Stella can do is make excusesfor his behavior, not blaming him for anything People have got totolerate each others habits, I guess. It is in this scene (4) thatthe audience truly sees Stella... ...laces, especially in scene 3 All of you- please go home If any one of you have one spark of decency inyou- You lay your hands on me and Ill-. This is realistic forsome women who are submissive to their husbands, more so than perhapsthe characters actions, but the portrayal of the women characters asweak and wavering spouses is not realistic when it is the only femaleelement.There are no strong female characters in either A Streetcar NamedDesire of Death of a Salesman. Stella and Linda are obedient wives,inferior to their husbands, who forgive and support them in spite ofabuse. This is shown by their change in sentence structure anddiction. Perhaps some males desire unconditional support and surrenderfrom their wives, but to portray all females as weak women at theevery beck and call of their husbands is unrealistic and inaccurate.