Like a Moth to the Flame
Throughout history, there have been double standards in gender roles that expect women to appear in idealized fashions; foot binding in the song dynasty, Spartan expectations of women’s motherhood, and even in modern day as manifested in social-media driven expectations for women’s looks and behaviors. These patriarchal societal pressures force upon women the notions of an idealized woman and are often unattainable, to the point that women struggle and suffer trying to become the societal standard, one that differs throughout history but is often centered around beauty or motherhood. In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams juxtaposes Blanche’s contradictory motific relationships with various lights, …show more content…
When describing Blanche’s appearances and nature when she first arrives in New Orleans, the stage directions note, “[Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes that suggests a moth]” characterizing Blanche as a moth, a creature drawn to the light (Williams 15). This quote is contradictory within itself, describing Blanche as needing to both be near light, like a moth, but also to avoid light. Light is piercing, and can show one’s true nature; for Blanche, it represents her realistic image and appearance. She is aging and is becoming what society at the time considered to be “an old maid,” yet she is still very focused on appearances and wants to maintain an illusion of who she wishes she were. Subsequently, she is drawn to light, to the appeal of keeping up appearances and remaining attractive, yet she also shies away from the light, hesitant to accept the fact that she is slowly fading from what society deemed to be an ideal woman. This tension is indicative of an internal conflict within Blanche, as she struggles between acceptance and a constant desire to appear conformed to societal standards, whatever the …show more content…
Blanche’s struggles cast her as a victim of a common societal problem, both during the 1940’s and modern day. Blanche, like many women, has been conditioned to feel a constant need to be like a butterfly--strong, beautiful and present in the light. When Blanche is unable to do so, she suffers greatly, a struggle exacerbated by her clear mental health challenges. Like Blanche, many women are pressured by internalized societal standards of women’s beauty to try to be unrealistic or untrue about their states, trying to seem like butterflies when they can’t. Subsequently, many women face their own internal battles, trying to suppress qualities within themselves deemed weak, masculine or not feminine enough. This is manifested in mental illnesses such as anorexia and bulimia, as women, disproportionately to men, are forced to remain under a constant image that is unattainable. Ultimately, Blanche can be used as an extreme example of the harmful effects that unattainable societal standards of beauty and appearance--be them young marriage and youthfulness for Blanche or model-esque physique or social media popularity for present day girls--can have on
Throughout history, there have been double standards in gender roles that expect women to appear in idealized fashions; foot binding in the song dynasty, Spartan expectations of women’s motherhood, and even in modern day as manifested in social-media driven expectations for women’s looks and behaviors. These patriarchal societal pressures force upon women the notions of an idealized woman and are often unattainable, to the point that women struggle and suffer trying to become the societal standard, one that differs throughout history but is often centered around beauty or motherhood. In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams juxtaposes Blanche’s contradictory motific relationships with various lights, …show more content…
When describing Blanche’s appearances and nature when she first arrives in New Orleans, the stage directions note, “[Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes that suggests a moth]” characterizing Blanche as a moth, a creature drawn to the light (Williams 15). This quote is contradictory within itself, describing Blanche as needing to both be near light, like a moth, but also to avoid light. Light is piercing, and can show one’s true nature; for Blanche, it represents her realistic image and appearance. She is aging and is becoming what society at the time considered to be “an old maid,” yet she is still very focused on appearances and wants to maintain an illusion of who she wishes she were. Subsequently, she is drawn to light, to the appeal of keeping up appearances and remaining attractive, yet she also shies away from the light, hesitant to accept the fact that she is slowly fading from what society deemed to be an ideal woman. This tension is indicative of an internal conflict within Blanche, as she struggles between acceptance and a constant desire to appear conformed to societal standards, whatever the …show more content…
Blanche’s struggles cast her as a victim of a common societal problem, both during the 1940’s and modern day. Blanche, like many women, has been conditioned to feel a constant need to be like a butterfly--strong, beautiful and present in the light. When Blanche is unable to do so, she suffers greatly, a struggle exacerbated by her clear mental health challenges. Like Blanche, many women are pressured by internalized societal standards of women’s beauty to try to be unrealistic or untrue about their states, trying to seem like butterflies when they can’t. Subsequently, many women face their own internal battles, trying to suppress qualities within themselves deemed weak, masculine or not feminine enough. This is manifested in mental illnesses such as anorexia and bulimia, as women, disproportionately to men, are forced to remain under a constant image that is unattainable. Ultimately, Blanche can be used as an extreme example of the harmful effects that unattainable societal standards of beauty and appearance--be them young marriage and youthfulness for Blanche or model-esque physique or social media popularity for present day girls--can have on