1.3.2
Modern Domestic Tragedy
Characters in Modern Domestic Tragedies
Characters in Modern Domestic Tragedies
In modern domestic tragedies, the characters do not have to be as grand as a King or a Prince but they often still have a particular status in the society in which they operate.
Tragic flaw
Tragic flaw
- The main character can still have a tragic flaw.
Character and society
Character and society
- The wider society may be considered tragic because the text is set in a particular era or time period.
- Very often, the tragic hero or heroine will find themselves at odds with the society around them - so that they do not quite fit.
- Sometimes, a character tries to rise too quickly in society and pays the price for their ambition.
Features of Modern Domestic Tragedies
Features of Modern Domestic Tragedies
Modern domestic tragedies such as A Streetcar Named Desire often have the following core components:
Harsh reality
Harsh reality
- They explore the painfulness of a world where fictions of a rational social order can no longer be maintained.
- E.g. Blanche knows that the ordered past can no longer be relied upon.
Anti-heroes
Anti-heroes
- The figures of modern tragedies are anti-heroes. This means that they are just ordinary people as opposed to the great men and women of earlier tragedies.
- E.g. Blanche and Stanley are just normal people in New Orleans.
Family life
Family life
- They focus on family life – the drama tends to look inward at one’s self and one’s immediate surrounds.
- E.g. the focus here upon Stella and Stanley’s apartment.
Psychological emphasis
Psychological emphasis
- There is a psychological emphasis.
- E.g. with all of the main characters in the tragedy Williams had constructed.
Disorder of the mind
Disorder of the mind
- The emphasis in modern tragedy is on the disorder of the mind as well as the disorder of the wider world.
- E.g. when Blanche suffers from a breakdown at the end of the drama.
1Context & Overview
1.1The Author
1.2Social Context & Setting
2Scene Summaries
2.3Scene Three
2.5Scene Five
2.6Scene Six
2.7Scene Seven
2.9Scene Nine
2.10Scene Ten
3Character Profiles
3.1Blanche DuBois & Stanley Kowalski
3.2Stella Kowalski & Harold Mitchell (Mitch)
4Key Ideas
4.1Sex & Gender
4.2Appearances, Fantasy & Reality
5Writing Techniques
5.2Genre, Form & Language
6Critical Debates
6.1Early & Modern Reception
6.2Feminist, Psychoanalytic & Marxist Approach
7Ideas About Tragedy
7.1Ideas About Tragedy
Jump to other topics
1Context & Overview
1.1The Author
1.2Social Context & Setting
2Scene Summaries
2.3Scene Three
2.5Scene Five
2.6Scene Six
2.7Scene Seven
2.9Scene Nine
2.10Scene Ten
3Character Profiles
3.1Blanche DuBois & Stanley Kowalski
3.2Stella Kowalski & Harold Mitchell (Mitch)
4Key Ideas
4.1Sex & Gender
4.2Appearances, Fantasy & Reality
5Writing Techniques
5.2Genre, Form & Language
6Critical Debates
6.1Early & Modern Reception
6.2Feminist, Psychoanalytic & Marxist Approach
7Ideas About Tragedy
7.1Ideas About Tragedy
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