Jezebel (1938) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) are both films that are adapted from plays and set in New Orleans, Louisiana. Although the two works are depicting different periods in history, they explore similar conflicts and themes. Jezebel and A Streetcar Named Desire both demonstrate that females are the inferior gender. Both films exhibit a female leading character, Julie Marsden and Blanche DuBois, portrayed by Bette Davis and Vivien Leigh, respectfully. Because females do not enjoy the same respect and dominance as the males do in the films, both Julie and Blanche challenge this standard and attempt to gain control through manipulation. Manipulation is a prevalent theme in both films and is not limited to just females, but is used
…show more content…
After Pres contracted yellow fever, Amy intended to go to Lazarette Island with him since she is his wife. Julie reasoned that she wishes she was as “pure” as having grace and no faults as Amy and hopes to be like her. She rationalizes that being exiled to the island and taking care of Pres will suffice as her punishment. With Julie’s history of being in love with Pres and going to extremes, it can easily be argued that being exiled to Lazarette Island is what she genuinely wanted because she would be the one with Pres, not Amy. In A Streetcar Named Desire, also set in New Orleans, but in the 1940s and focusing more on the middle to lower class citizens, manipulation is also present. The premise of the story is about Blanche, a teacher who visits her younger sister, Stella (Kim Hunter). Blanche is more fit for the characters of Jezebel because she is used to a more lavish lifestyle opposed to the current living situation of Stella and her husband, Stanley Kowalski (Marlon …show more content…
Stanley is also a manipulator and a more successful one than Blanche. When Stella is at the hospital, after Mitch leaves Blanche alone in the home, Stanley arrives. The film implies that Stanley rapes Blanche but due to Blanche’s tendency to lie and distort information and her unstable past, nobody believes her. As a result, Blanche is committed to a mental hospital. In the original play, which the film is based on, Stanley comforts Stella by saying sending her away is the right thing to do. But the film takes another turn and Stella vows that she will never go back to
After Pres contracted yellow fever, Amy intended to go to Lazarette Island with him since she is his wife. Julie reasoned that she wishes she was as “pure” as having grace and no faults as Amy and hopes to be like her. She rationalizes that being exiled to the island and taking care of Pres will suffice as her punishment. With Julie’s history of being in love with Pres and going to extremes, it can easily be argued that being exiled to Lazarette Island is what she genuinely wanted because she would be the one with Pres, not Amy. In A Streetcar Named Desire, also set in New Orleans, but in the 1940s and focusing more on the middle to lower class citizens, manipulation is also present. The premise of the story is about Blanche, a teacher who visits her younger sister, Stella (Kim Hunter). Blanche is more fit for the characters of Jezebel because she is used to a more lavish lifestyle opposed to the current living situation of Stella and her husband, Stanley Kowalski (Marlon …show more content…
Stanley is also a manipulator and a more successful one than Blanche. When Stella is at the hospital, after Mitch leaves Blanche alone in the home, Stanley arrives. The film implies that Stanley rapes Blanche but due to Blanche’s tendency to lie and distort information and her unstable past, nobody believes her. As a result, Blanche is committed to a mental hospital. In the original play, which the film is based on, Stanley comforts Stella by saying sending her away is the right thing to do. But the film takes another turn and Stella vows that she will never go back to