Themes in Oleanna

I think that one of the themes in Oleanna is the struggle for power. Through out the play, Carol and John battle for the power in their relationship. Their battle ultimately results in the destruction of Johns career and life, while though Carol ends up with the power she is also physically beaten by John. This power struggle also appears to change people throughout the play as in the final lines Carols accusations become true and John turns into the man that Carol accuses him of being. I think that this is one of the strongest images of power as we see Carols ability to manipulate John so much.

The idea of power is also seen through "the groups" manipulation of Carol. The amount of influence over Carol "the group" has is phenomenal. Whenever we see that Carol has become stronger and more confident it is when she references "the group" and what they've told her. I think that "the group" is a very important ghost character because of the effect that they have on Carols character.

Oleanna and Prologue

Oleanna, the song is a Norwegian folk song about someone wanting to escape to a better place, namely Oleanna. The song is alluded to in the title of the play and obviously has significance to the play. Through out the play both the characters, John and Carol fight for the power over each other. Carol wants to ruin him so that she can pass the class and do what she wants in her future with out the class stopping her. John wants his freedom to do what he want as a teacher. In a way this is them trying to escape to a better place which allows them to do as they please. This song is also reflected in Johns life inside and outside of the college. John is constantly trying to get something better as we are constantly reminded through the phone calls that he get during their conversations. His Tenure and house as well as his relationship with his wife all seem to be out of reach while he is at the college trapped by the battle between Carol and him; as in the song he is trapped in a place he does not want to be while thinking about better places/things. After reading Alice's blog post on this topic I understood some of the more metaphorical representations of the song in the play. One of these is that Carol came to the school in search of success and has (during the play) not done so but is failing a class; this is seen in the song as the man wishes to go to Oleanna but unfortunately Oleanna is really a fairytale that in reality failed.The prologue quotation by Samuel Butler is very pertinent to the play. As it talks about deluding themselves to survive. This is important to the play as Carol is going to completely ruin John in order to pass the course and survive college.In a way John also deludes himself into thinking that he can take care of the problem on his own to preserve his pride and ego. The second prologue quote is from the song alluded to in the title.

Hedda Gabler Paper

I found the feminist view of Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” to be very interesting. Throughout the paper Farfan appears to praise and condemn Hedda’s character. Farfan describes Hedda as a “great role for women in the dramatic repertory.” At the beginning of this discussion Farfan explains Hedda’s character from the feminist point of view. She explains that Hedda’s strong personality and independence made her great for plays and for womens sufferage movement as the play showed an independent and powerful woman. However, further into the discussion Farfan explains that Hedda’s suicide at the end of the play was not well taken by other feminists “since she lacks the courage and conviction of the many suffragists who endured such hardships as jail sentences and forced feedings.” I found this interesting because in the critique there is no mention of why she commited suicide as that was a very important part of the play. As she did it because she lost her power and this was the only way that she could have stayed in control I found it interesting that the Feminist view looked on it so harshly. In this paper a lot of it talked about “Hedda Gabler ” in the form of actually a performance and the changes they made. In this discussion of “Hedda Gabler” they focused on Hedda’s personality and “imagined Hedda would have been had she somehow existed outside Ibsen’s play.”

Farfan, Penny. "From "Hedda Gabler" to "Votes for Women": Elizabeth Robins's Early Feminist Critique of Ibsen." Theater Journal 48.1 (1996): 59-78. Print.

Hedda, Heidi, and A Street Car Named Desire

All of these plays focus on a woman experiencing changes in her environment. In both A Street Car Named Desire and Hedda the woman obviously does not fit into the mold of the woman at the time. Hedda extremely independent character contrast vehemently with the traditional woman of the time; while Blanche is has the opposite view of herself as she is stuck in the past and cannot break away from it. Similarly Heidi does not fit into the same ideal that the rest of the women in Heidi do, though she does support the cause and women's rights she adopts a child at the end going against the values of many strong feminists.

Children are also very important to all of these plays. There are many similarities between Heidi and Hedda in some respects towards children. In Hedda her child and other references to children are connected with death. To Hedda her unborn child is what will take away her current freedom; and in her death and her babies death her gets some of that freedom and power back. In Heidi her child is Heidi using her freedom to be a mother as well as having a career. To others her child also could represent her death in the protests for women's rights as she has given in to the stereotypes.

Hedda

Archers discussion of Hedda is quiet interesting as he reduces the play to a simple character study. Archers statement about the time period of the play I thought was interesting because of Archers claim that Ibsen was scared of the public reaction if he were to place it in current times. Because Ibsen seemed to feel fine showing his audience that many people including themselves are somewhat I find it hard to believe that he feared commenting on the lack of change in women's role. It would have been not only a commentary on people being the product of their environments but also a commentary on the lack of change in societies. I wonder how different the reaction to the play would have been if it had been placed in a time period closer to his own?

The comparison of Shakespeare's women and Ibsen's was entertaining. I tried to put some of Shakespeare's women into Hedda position and vice verse. It was strange to say the least. I think that in "As You like It" there may have been a war; and one of the couples may have gone "Romeo and Juliet" style while the other married her. But other than that I think that both types of characters are simple to understand at a basic level. Hedda is the product of her life while Shakespeare's are romanticized versions of people.

Blog Portfolio

1. Coverage-

Blog 1:http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/01/blanche-1.html

Blog 2:http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/01/xliii-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count.html

Blog 3:http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/01/symbols-in-street-car-named-desire.html

Blog 4:http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/01/italics.html

Blog 5:http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/01/set-design.html

Blog 6:http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/02/differences.html

Blog 7:http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/02/setting.html

Blog 8:http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/02/heidi-and-street-car.html

Blog 9:http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/03/hedda.html

2. Depth- http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/02/setting.html

I chose this because outside sources were used.

3. Interaction- http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/02/differences.html

I chose this because I talked about Alice's blog and worked it into mine.

4. Discussion- http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/02/heidi-and-street-car.html#comment-form

Because it was commented on.

5. Xenoblogging-http://rrobbins.hsblogs.aes.ac.in/2012/03/13/hedda-as-a-modern-women/#comment-48

I chose this one because I commented on Becca's thoughts on Hedda as a Modern Woman.

6. Wildcard-http://samantha94englishblog.blogspot.in/2012/01/italics.html

I chose this blog because I felt that I did it quite well.

Heidi and Street car

There are many similarities between A Street Car Named Desire and Heidi Chronicles. One of these similarities is through the setting. In both A Street Car Named Desire and Heidi Chronicles the time period in which they are set is very important to understanding the play. If we did not know that Heidi Chronicles was during a feminist movement that created a lot of change we would not have full understood the significance of Heidi's decisions or those of the friends. While Blanche's beliefs are emphasized by the change it time period as her ideas appear to be outdated and stuck in the past.

While there is quite a difference in the settings of the two plays the locations do have some similarities. Both of the settings in the play tend to reflect or emphasize the main character. In A Street Car Named Desire the setting changes when Blanche is being haunted by her past while Heidi's changes when there is a different relationship with the other characters.

Setting

As this play encompasses a time period from 1965-1989, key events during America were sure to help invoke feminist movements to an even more extreme level. Starting from the early 1960’s to the late 1990’s, a movement known as “Second Wave Feminism” arose, which happened around the times that The Heidi Chronicles displayed. Basically, Second Wave Feminism rebounded off the first’s strife to legal equality rights for voting and property and focused more on social equality, such as issues regarding sexuality, employment, and family.

As a prelude to introduce rising feminist movements, under the Kennedy administration, the President made women’s rights a key policy of his 1961 New Frontier campaign. As talks of equality begin to pick up, many find that in almost every aspect of American life involve discrimination against women. To counter this, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination in terms of sex, gender, etc. when hiring. Betty Friedan, an immensely important feminist figure founds the National Organization for women in order to create more civil rights opportunities. More and more momentum begins to pick up around 1967 as the Equal Rights Amendment and National Welfare Rights Organization start. Women’s liberation movements begin appearing all over America and the first conference is held later on. A huge achievement is made when the first Women’s Equality Day is announced in 1971. Another is seen the following year when the Equal Rights Amendment is reintroduced into Congress and passes in order to secure presidential consent for gender equality. Women begin getting permission to join the Army and Air Force, and the Time Person of the Year goes to a woman in 1975 to celebrate feminist successes. Women all over the nation begin speaking out against common issues that have faced them for so long: abortion, divorce, equal pay, pregnancy, etc. However, the 1980’s marked the decline of the second wave. Curiously enough, the play’s second act also remains in New York, from 1980-1989. Perhaps this shows the world’s decline in feminism in accordance with Heidi’s own.

As shown by the enormous historical events that occurred with feminism during the era of Heidi, clearly outside factors were a large factor on the play. Other social developments are also conveyed through the transition in time, such as music, use of television, dress, and other forms of media/entertainment.

Since Streetcar took place roughly 10-30 years, from the start to end of Heidi, its evident how different women were treated before the Second Wave Feminism. What is also a factor in the treatment is the location, as the East coast of America is sure to be a lot more civilized and socially advanced than the South area of New Orleans. The domestic abuse that the women face are nowhere to be seen in Heidi, yet Stella, Blanche, Eunice, and the prostitute are all abused verbally and physically.

In act one the setting is important as it takes Heidi is a circle, returning her to her original location at the end. This cyclical journey emphasizes in the play how much the world has changed while Heidi has remained the same.

The setting is also important as is shows Heidi’s remoteness in the scenes. In the first scene Heidi is at a high school dance with many people but still is able to be removed from what is happening. The setting during that scene is very youthful and with “streamers” and such, this displays Heidi’s youth while her placement in the crowd displays how she is removed from the others at the dance. When she is seen in the next scene she is also removed from setting in away as she stands by herself by the table and is only connected to the scene through Scoop when he comes to chat with her. In the next scene the setting shows how Heidi is removed from what is happening around her as she sits “slightly outside the circle.”

In once scene the setting echos what is happening in the scene. In scene four, at the art institute it is raining. This reflects what is going on in the scene as not only has the rally not gone well but initially Peter's and Heidi's friendship is not in a good place. However by the end on the scene both situations have cleared up and so has the weather.

The changes in setting in act one compared to act two also show us the difference between the characters in the acts. At the beginning of the play they are young and are not required to be responsible and can do as they please; but in the latter half of the play they are older and having to face their decisions and have realized that they cannot keep chasing the ideals they did in their youth. The second half of the play reflects how the characters in the play have needed to become stable and responsible while having to give up their initial goals in life.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/womenx2019s-rights-movements

http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-131.htm

Differences

One of the major differences between the written play and the movie Street Car Named Desire is the ending. In the original version Stella does not confront her suspicions about the validity of Blanche claim and continues to delude herself about Stanley's actions. It is quite the opposite in the movie as Stella eventually confronts these ideas and runs to Eunice's instead to back to Stanley, however we don't know how long this lasts as this is the final scene.

Another difference between the original play is Mitch's outburst toward Stanley in the last scene. This short confrontation between Mitch and Stanley present in the movie was not in the original text. The fight in the movie made the audience more certain of the rape than the book describes as the passage in which it occurs is some what vague.

Another thing that was different between the original and the movie was that the movie focused on Blanches confusion with reality and fantasies; the original also incorporates the emotional turmoil she experiences as the music haunts her as to the shadows on the wall. Though the Polka music does play quite often in the movie, the original uses it more as a memory that haunts her rather than something that occurs when she becomes agitated. And in the movie the creeping shadow are used very little if at all to show how she can't get away from her past as it does in the original.

Another difference between the movie and the original play is that in the original Blanche's dead husband was gay while he is not in the movie. For whatever reason this was omitted from the movie it did effect some of the audiences perceptions of Blanche. Because of this difference Blanches reaction can be interpreted differently as can her residual guilt that drives her slightly mad. After reading Alice's blog post on the subject I understand that even more of the story was impacted by this small change in character. I found "It saps the love the love Blanche held for Allen and, to some extent, belies Blanche's ideal of fairytale love," to be a really interesting idea that I had not thought of before (http://airossignol.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/film-adaptations-rarely-good-often-sacrilegious/).