Critical Views (AO5)
Both The Duchess of Malfi and A Streetcar Named Desire have generated extensive critical debate about gender, power, sexuality, class, and theatrical representation. Critics approach these plays through multiple theoretical lenses -- feminist, psychoanalytic, Marxist, new historicist, performance studies, queer theory -- each illuminating different dimensions of meaning.
Synthesis: Multiplicity of Meanings
Critical perspectives on both plays are multiple, contested, evolving. Both plays resist singular interpretation. Their richness lies in multiplicity of meanings -- audiences in 1614/1947 saw different plays than we see now.
Key Debates
- Feminist: Do the plays expose or exploit female suffering?
- Psychoanalytic: Are Ferdinand/Stanley pathological exceptions or representative of "normal" masculinity?
- Marxist: Do class structures determine outcomes, or do individuals have agency?
- Performance: Does meaning reside in text or performance?
- Queer: How do non-normative sexualities shape both plays?
What Students Must Do
- Acknowledge critical debate -- not pretend one reading is definitive
- Cite specific critics by name (Jardine, Tischler, Callaghan, etc.)
- Evaluate interpretive validity -- which readings best illuminate text/context?
- Use AO5 to deepen argument -- not just describe critics but engage with their ideas
Essay Application
Sample A* Paragraph (AO5 Focus)
Critical perspectives on the Duchess and Blanche diverge significantly regarding whether the playwrights expose or exploit female suffering. Lisa Jardine's feminist reading celebrates Webster's Duchess as "politically radical," asserting sexual autonomy through the defiant declaration "I am Duchess of Malfi still" -- linguistic selfhood resisting patriarchal erasure (AO5: proto-feminist interpretation). However, Kathleen McLuskie challenges this, noting the Duchess still dies brutally after elaborate torture, questioning whether dignified language compensates for spectacular violence inflicted on female body (AO5: skeptical feminist critique). Similarly, Nancy Tischler reads Blanche sympathetically as "victim of systemic male violence and patriarchal double standards," emphasizing Stanley's rape as unambiguous crime (AO5: feminist contextualization). Yet other critics note Williams pathologizes Blanche's sexuality as traumatic compulsion rather than joyful desire, potentially reinforcing stereotypes of hysterical femininity (AO5: critical feminist perspective). Performance criticism complicates this further -- Elia Kazan's 1947 production romanticized Stanley's violence, making him charismatic while rendering Blanche neurotic, demonstrating how directorial choices can distort textual politics (AO5: performance studies). Ultimately, both plays contain potential for feminist critique and misogynistic exploitation; meaning is unstable, determined by critical framework and performance choices rather than textual essence.
Practice Questions
1. "Feminist critics are right to celebrate the Duchess but wrong to sympathize with Blanche." How far do you agree?
Approach: Disagree -- both deserve sympathy and critique. Use Jardine on Duchess, Tischler on Blanche. Compare their agency, sexuality, outcomes. Acknowledge both plays' feminist potential and problematic elements. AO5 throughout.
2. Compare how psychoanalytic critics interpret male violence in both plays.
Approach: Ferdinand = incestuous desire (Callaghan); Stanley = phallic aggression (Bigsby). Both pathologize male sexuality differently. Evaluate whether psychoanalytic readings illuminate or reduce complexity. AO5 + AO4.
3. "Marxist critics overemphasize class at the expense of gender." Discuss with reference to both plays.
Approach: Debate -- Marxist insights (economic determinism, class conflict) are valuable but must integrate with feminism. Antonio's class vs Duchess's gender; Stella's economic dependence vs Blanche's gender vulnerability. Use feminist-Marxist critics. AO5.
4. How have changing performance practices affected critical interpretations of both plays?
Approach: Victorian Duchess vs Feminist Duchess; Kazan's Streetcar vs Feminist reinterpretations. Show how performance shapes meaning. Use performance critics (Barker, Murphy). AO5 + AO2.