Paper #1

“When I am Alive, No Woman Shall Rule”

            Gender inequality is a theme that is prevalent in many major literary works.  Two literary works in which this theme plays an important role are A Streetcar Named Desire, a play by Tennessee Williams, and Antigone, a play by Sophocles.  In both plays, the characters live in patriarchal societies.  Despite the fact that Antigone was written in 441 BC and A Streetcar Named Desire was written in 1947, there are not many differences between the way Creon treats Antigone and the way Stanley treats Blanche and his wife, Stella.

            In Antigone, Ismene represents the way women were supposed to act during classical Greek times, while Antigone goes against the norm by deliberately disobeying the law.  Ismene is a pushover and does not dare to even consider breaking the law.  She shows her own subservience in lines 70-73 by saying, “You ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men, and that we are ruled, by those who are stronger, to obedience in this and even more painful matters” (Sophocles 70-73).  Antigone, however, has no interest in satisfying the government’s desires; she stands up for what she thinks is right.  Even though she knows she will be killed if she takes any actions to bury her brother, Polyneices, she believes that she is right in the eyes of the Gods and that the law does not matter.  “I myself will bury him.  It will be good to die, so doing.  I shall lie by his side, loving him as he loved me; I shall be a criminal—but a religious one” (Antigone 82-85).  She also disagrees with the common belief that government figures are given power through the Gods by doing this, which is equally as controversial as breaking the law.

            There are various lines stated by Creon that reflect his belief that women are inferior to men.  Creon says to Antigone that in this life, his own ruling power comes before his family when he says, “Go then to the world below, yourself, if you must love.  Love them.  When I am alive no woman shall rule” (Sophocles 576-577).  It is quite obvious that he stresses the word “woman” because he would never allow his ego to be damaged by a woman.  He takes this a step further later on by saying to his son, Haemon, “…we must stand on the side of what is orderly; we cannot give victory to a woman.  If we must accept defeat, let it be from a man; we must not let people say that a woman beat us” (Sophocles 728-731).  He shows this belief further in this conversation later by also saying:  “Your nature is vile, in yielding to a woman” (Sophocles 803) and “You woman’s slave, do not try to wheedle me” (Sophocles 814).  While speaking to Ismene about whom his son will marry after Antigone is killed, he crudely says:  “…there are other fields for him to plough” (Sophocles 624).  He is basically saying here that Ismene does not even matter; she is just a replaceable piece of flesh for Haemon to consummate.

            In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, gender inequality is also a recurring theme.  Stanley believes he is superior to Stella and Blanche because they are women and walks all over them.  Toward the beginning of the play, when talking about the Napoleonic code to Stella, he says that it states:  “what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband and vice versa” (Williams Scene 2).  When he speaks of it to Blanche, he says, “a man has to take an interest in his wife’s affairs” (Williams Scene 2).  This is important because he puts himself first in both of these lines.  He chooses to say “what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband” clearly, but then adds on, almost as an afterthought: “and vice versa”.  Before that, he says that “a man must take interest in his wife’s affairs”, showing yet again, that he puts himself first and views himself as superior to Stella.

            At the poker game, Stanley yells, “Turn it off!” at Stella and Blanche when they turn on the radio, to which Steve replies, “Aw, let the girls have their music” (Williams Scene 3).  This shows that both Stanley and Steve feel they are superior to the women by referring to them as “the girls”.  This would be the same as someone saying, “Let the black people have their music.” in today’s society; the fact that a difference between the speaker and the subject is pointed out shows that the speaker believes he or she is superior.  Later on in the play, Stanley blatantly points out his authoritative attitude by saying, “What do you two think you are?  A pair of queens?  Remember what Huey Long said—‘Every Man is a King!’  And I am the king around here, so don’t forget it!” (Williams Scene 8).

            Stanley’s final act of superiority in the play comes while Stella is in labor in the hospital.  He plays along with Blanche’s lies and acts innocently toward her, just waiting for her to slip up so he can pounce the second she slips up and lies.  When she does, he confronts her about it and commits the ultimate violent act of physical and mental dominance:  rape.  This shows the extremity of Stanley’s self-empowered attitude because he knows that he can never be considered wrong.  This horrid act not only shows his dominance over Blanche, but it also shows Blanche that he can do whatever he wants and Stella will always be his little puppet.

            In both Antigone and A Streetcar Named Desire, the theme of gender inequality reflects the beliefs of people in the plays’ respective times.  Creon and Stanley represent the oppressive males in their respective plays, while Ismene and Stella represent the women that are walked on by these males.  However, Antigone represents a woman who stands up to the oppressive male figure, while Blanche is walked on.