Gender Politics – Streetcar and Antony and Cleopatra

Gender Politics – Streetcar and Antony and Cleopatra

ž  Judith Butler believed that gender is a product of society. Society has constructed the common forms and conventions of gender. Humans conform to this by performing the gender they are categorised into.

ž  Butler uses the concept of Queer Theory the further explain her point. Stating that identity should not be qualified by the sex of the person. By simply describing someone as male or female we are saying nothing about them as a person, therefore gender has nothing to do with individuality

ž  Blanche performs as a subgenre of stereotypical woman, indulging in glamour and beauty.

ž  Stella conforms to a different aspect of gender politics, still under a female stereotype of a submissive housewife who dotes on her husband

ž  Stanley conform to the stereotypes of the male gender as aspects such as strength shown in his physical violence and his description of being attracted to women reflect qualities of the stereotypical man.

ž  Cleopatra conforms to stereotypical seductive female. Uses her sexuality to grasp power over Antony and dominate him. In some ways this is her way of breaking a common powerless female stereotype as she later becomes violent and incredibly domineering, however her sexuality is the first stepping stone which allowed her to begin her journey and rise to power.

ž  Antony falls from his role of a stereotypical strong man. He is first described as incredibly strong and able to survive in the harshest conditions. His masculinity is spoken of in reference to war, nature and strength.

ž    We see Antony described ‘like a stag’, an animal which hold connotations of mythical power.  This brings us back to his God-like image as within Pagan beliefs the stag was the ‘king of the forest’ and the horns were the animal’s crown. The horns on a stag were also seen by the Pagans as both male and female aspects of the divine being. The horns being representative of the crescent moon which was linked to the female side, and the antlers themselves being the male side. This could also be reflective of how Antony is described as both a man and a woman in the play as later on he is spoken of as ‘not more woman like than Cleopatra’. This follows through to Egyptian faiths as we see many Egyptian Gods wear horns on their heads, a link which could show how Cleopatra sees Antony as a God also ‘one side’s a Gorgon, the other a Mars’.

ž       Epitome of manhood, able to survive in harshest conditions, raw strength. The description of Antony living rough in the harsh confines of nature also shows a disregard for the importance of bodily pleasures and the lower order pleasures of food. We see this disregard as Antony drinks the ‘stale of horses’ and eats ‘strange flesh’ and ‘the roughest berry’, we see no pleasure in this eating and all meaning is in the higher order pleasure of survival and reaching a high intellectual level of leadership. Survival and duty is more important. This is a contrast to his life in Egypt where he lived not for duty or survival but for Cleopatra and all the bodily pleasures such as food and sex that came with her. We see Antony changes as his life suddenly seems to be revolving around the lower order pleasures alone.

ž  ‘I drunk him to his bed, then put my tires and mantles on him whilst I wore his sword Philipipan’ – Sexual connotations, powerful in a sexual way. Uses this to manipulate and overpower, get what she wants. Lower order pleasures, food, sex.

ž  ‘most infectious pestilence upon thee!’ – explosive and angry, lets her emotions dictate her actions, rash, very emotionally driven. Makes a bad leader? Antony puts his emotions aside – marries Octavia for peace even though he loves Cleopatra.

ž  ‘Strikes him down, strikes him, hales him up and down, draws a knife’ – not many stage directions, showing her as violent, male trait. Animalistic level of dominance and power. Lower order pleasures. Less intellectual than Romans, fights to solve problems, doesn’t reason. Bodily.