After seeing a play like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or A Streetcar Named Desire, it can be difficult for one viewer remember that there was once a time in Western culture when revealing a woman's bare foot proved completely scandalous. What was considered the dramatization of sexuality in the 18th century is completely bland and bland compared to what happens in the plays of the mid-20th century. Among the pioneering playwrights of the era was Tennessee Williams, whose works include modern classics of the American theater. Two of his most recognizable works, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire, are known for their film adaptations and, above all, for the clear and constant presence of sexuality on both stage and screen. Although sexuality is the less prominent topic in one than the other, both dramas show a change in the depiction of usually toned-down types of sexual behavior, with carnal desire, homosexuality, and sadomasochism in the foreground. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayBoth plays feature a definitive opening scene that prepares the audience for the sexual themes that are about to be brought to the stage. In Cat, Maggie is shown in the first moments taking off her dress and speaking normally, as if the audience is getting an even more intimate look into her normal life (883). Going even further is the introduction of her husband, who we will discover is known for his good looks, on stage wearing only a towel and a leg in a cast (884). The fact that the entire play is mostly set in the bedroom of Big Daddy's manor only confirms the idea that the play will present sexuality as an important part of the theatrical experience. Streetcar does the same thing, only in a seemingly subtle, but actually more pronounced way. The first sound the audience hears when the curtain opens is the “Blue Piano,” which “expresses the life that takes place here” (469). Since the show takes place in New Orleans, it is obvious that the type of music played is jazz, a typically sensual type of expression. Furthermore, jazz musicianship does not imply lovemaking: it conveys a dangerous and extremely exciting sexuality, thus foreshadowing the nature of Streetcar as a whole. Cat is different from other types of sexual dramatizations because sexuality is constantly denied and ignored. Brick's sexual abstinence and rejection of his wife are evidence of this, as is his denial of homosexual identity or desire for his deceased friend, Skipper. One could argue that Gooper's "breeding" family is proof that sexuality is not entirely ignored, but the truth is that no one likes Gooper, not even his family, and his role is of little interest to the audience compared to that of Brick and Maggie. childless relationship. What is so remarkable about Cat is that by denying the eroticism, it becomes more pronounced for the audience and the reader, who can feel their own sensual expectations of the work denied time and time again. It is in this way that sexuality is dramatized internally and more subtly than the overt physicality of Streetcar. The driving force behind the depiction of sexual desire in Cat comes immediately from the first act. The revealing entrances of Maggie and Brick characterize them both as objects of sexual desire by the audience itself. The obvious problem is that, although Maggie wants to perform a sexual act for the audience, Brick deliverspainfully clear that he doesn't want her body at all. For example, when confronted about the way he looked at her in the mirror, Brick bluntly insists on the truth, that he "wasn't conscious of looking at [Maggie]" and that "[he] doesn't remember thinking about anything." (890).Maggie's sexual need for a man who does not desire her is captivatingly masochistic, while also destroying preconceptions of male and female sexuality previously seen in American theater.Maggie's erotic needs are shown to begin to paralyze her and slowly ad break her down, suggesting a completely new and frightening concept to the American audience. First, an example of increasing paralysis is how she is shown changing her clothes in Act I, symbolizing her growing restlessness and dissatisfaction her fertility, something the audience cannot understand due to the natural attraction to her character. Fertility, the culmination of monogamous existence and the natural result of marriage, is threatened by Maggie and Brick's relationship, particularly the denial of her body. from him. The audience expects them to resolve their problems by the end, but in the original version the conflict remains unresolved and fertility is still something to question. For an American audience that values ​​child-rearing, this is perhaps one of the most dangerous things sexuality can lead to, as it involves endangering one's own future and that of the characters. While not the main theme of the play, homosexuality is a very important part of the characterizations and actions within Cat as a whole. Brick's longing for his friend Skipper and devastation over his death are what paralyzes him, somewhat paralleling the denial of physical love that Maggie is simultaneously experiencing. Brick's frustration with his desires and guilt are symbolized by the cast on his leg and his alcohol abuse. The cast clearly represents the castration of manhood that Brick would surely experience if he admitted to himself his homosexual desires for Skipper. The desire paralyzed him physically, unlike the internal paralysis Maggie experienced. Brick is a broken man who intentionally brings himself to the brink of total collapse by abusing alcohol, presumably to numb painful memories and regrets from his past with Skipper. By “incapacitating” the character who embodies quintessential masculinity with homosexual curiosity and impulses, Williams suggests that Brick has internalized conventional morality within himself and that this will ultimately lead to his destruction. What frustrates both the characters and the audience is the unresolved and ambivalent conflict. nature of the relationship between Brick and Skipper. In his conversation with Big Daddy, Brick insists that it was a platonic, non-physical love for himself, saying, “Why can't a great friendship, a real, real, deep, deep friendship! Between two men to be respected as something clean and dignified without being considered…do…” (948). This is the question Williams asks the audience: Could Brick and Skipper have had a romantic relationship without damaging their status in society? Skipper's death prevents the audience from having the answer to this question and forces us to think about it. In the 1950s this meant reflecting on a type of sexuality considered unnatural and not talked about. Williams no longer challenges this society himself, but questions it, thus forcing the audience to consider how the topic of homosexuality is treated outside of the theater and in American society as a whole. It represents a clash between Americansold-fashioned Southern lifestyle and working-class immigrant culture, Streetcar is a defining play known for its depiction of sexuality as an animalistic, even violent impulse. The show is a brutal clash between opposing carnal passions: the past and internalized desires of Blanche Dubois and the extremely powerful and bestial sexual appetite of Stanley Kowalski. While Blanche is held back by the expectations of the Southern society in which she grew up, Stanley has nothing to stop him from exerting his power over those around him. Streetcar is a definitive sign of the changes in the dramatization of sexuality seen in mid-20th century plays. Even though Cat's sexuality was consistently denied, it is already something that is consistently pronounced and addressed throughout Streetcar.Blanche's sexual personality and backstory are key to understanding the aforementioned erotic clash. She acknowledges her dependence on men in her final (and most famous) line of the play as she holds the doctor's arm, "Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" (563). Blanche is therefore classified as a person who needs to attach herself to a man in order to gain access to her soul. However, by denying herself the opportunity to find herself alone and without a man, she inadvertently drove herself to madness. Also contributing to her growing madness are the consequences of being denied by men, particularly her teenage student and her homosexual husband, Allan. While a relationship with a 17-year-old is obviously legally prohibited, her dismissal because of it denies her both the romantic relationship and her livelihood. Having no man or income to live on, Blanche is forced to flee disappointment to stay alive. She is again denied a man to rely on when she discovers her husband Allan's homosexual affair, leading Allan to commit suicide. Haunted by her sexual past, Blanche erects a façade of conventional morality that slowly begins to crumble over the course of the play. This breakdown is gradual but increasingly clear as the play progresses, suggesting more and more the danger of Blanche's sexual activity. desires. In the fifth scene, Blanche throws herself at the young journalist, saying upon his arrival: “Good, good! What can I do for her?" (518). Attempting to seduce an innocent young man, Blanche's unhealthy and immoral sexual appetite is exposed, and the reader and audience finally gain proof that her virtuous pretense is a lie. Williams all he beginning does not directly address this type of sexuality, but uses this scene as a tool to dramatize Blanche's past and her carnal lust, as well as the debauchery of her animalistic nature is embodied entirely by the character of Stanley, whose Dominant stage presence is a driving force behind much of the play's action. When he first appears, Stanley is shown carrying “his bowling jacket and a red-stained package from a butcher” (470). physical description comes later, after Blanche's arrival, demonstrating that the first thing the audience needs to know about him is that Stanley, beyond anything else, is an animal at heart. In his description, Williams again mentions this fact about him, saying in a stage description, "The animal joy in his being is implicit in all his movements and attitudes" (481). Since much of his presence originates from his sexuality, it is implied that desiring him is easily comparable to desiring an animal itself, thus suggesting the dangerous topic of bestiality. Sadomasochism is another highly implied aspect of Stanley's relationships with.