1.3.2

Modern Domestic Tragedy

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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.

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Tragic flaw

  • The main character can still have a tragic flaw.
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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

Modern domestic tragedies such as A Streetcar Named Desire often have the following core components:

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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.
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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.
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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.
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Psychological emphasis

  • There is a psychological emphasis.
    • E.g. with all of the main characters in the tragedy Williams had constructed.
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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.

Jump to other topics

1Context & Overview

1.1The Author

1.1.1Tennessee Williams

1.2Social Context & Setting

1.2.1Social Context

1.2.2Social Issues

1.2.3Setting

1.3Tragedy

1.3.1Overview of the Tragic Genre

1.3.2Modern Domestic Tragedy

1.3.3End of Topic Test - Author, Context & Tragedy

2Scene Summaries

2.1Scene One

2.1.1Scene One: Summary

2.1.2Scene One: Tragedy Ideas

2.2Scene Two

2.2.1Scene Two: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.2.2End of Topic Test - Scenes One-Two

2.3Scene Three

2.3.1Scene Three: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.4Scene Four

2.4.1Scene Four: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.4.2End of Topic Test - Scenes Three & Four

2.5Scene Five

2.5.1Scene Five: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.6Scene Six

2.6.1Scene Six: Summary

2.7Scene Seven

2.7.1Scene Seven: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.8Scene Eight

2.8.1Scene Eight: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.8.2End of Topic Test - Scenes Five-Eight

2.9Scene Nine

2.9.1Scene Nine: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.10Scene Ten

2.10.1Scene Ten: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.11Scene Eleven

2.11.1Scene Eleven: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.11.2End of Topic Test - Scenes Nine-Eleven

3Character Profiles

3.1Blanche DuBois & Stanley Kowalski

3.1.1Blanche DuBois - The Past & Illusions

3.1.2Blanche DuBois - Relationship with Men & Breakdown

3.1.3The Dynamic Between Blanche & Stanley

3.1.4End of Topic Test - Blanche & Stanley

3.2Stella Kowalski & Harold Mitchell (Mitch)

3.2.1Stella Kowalski

3.2.2Harold Mitchell (Mitch)

3.3Minor Characters

3.3.1The Hubbels & Other Characters

3.3.2End of Topic Test - Stella, Mitch & Others

4Key Ideas

4.1Sex & Gender

4.1.1Sex & Desire

4.1.2Masculinity & Femininity

4.1.3End of Topic Test - Sex, Desire & Gender

4.2Appearances, Fantasy & Reality

4.2.1Outer & Inner Appearances

4.2.2Fantasy & Reality

4.2.3End of Topic Test - Appearances, Fantasy...

5Writing Techniques

5.1Structure

5.1.1Structure & Stage Design

5.1.2Linking Devices

5.1.3Recurring Motifs

5.2Genre, Form & Language

5.2.1Genre

5.2.2Form & Language

5.2.3End of Topic Test - Writing Techniques

6Critical Debates

6.1Early & Modern Reception

6.1.1Interpreting Blanche & Self-Pity

6.1.2Contemporary & Modern Reviews

6.2Feminist, Psychoanalytic & Marxist Approach

6.2.1Feminist Approach

6.2.2Psychoanalytic Approach

6.2.3Marxist Approach

6.2.4End of Topic Test - Critical Debates

7Ideas About Tragedy

7.1Ideas About Tragedy

7.1.1Tragic Ideas & Villain

7.1.2Tragic Structure & Language

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Overview of the Tragic Genre

End of Topic Test - Author, Context & Tragedy