The plays Heidi
Chronicles,( HC), by Wendy Wasserstein, A Street Car Named Desire, (SCND), By Tennessee Williams and Hedda Gabler, (HG), by Henrik Ibsen though set
in different eras all revolve around the
trials and tribulations of their female protagonists, Blanche DuBois, Hedda
Gabler, and Heidi Holland respectively. The central theme of the play essays
these essentially independent women trying to find their way and discovering
their individual identity within the confines of a society where the male
dominates. Fantasy over reality, feminism, and power struggles are all key
themes played out in different scenarios.
While Hedda, and Blanche draw upon metaphoric masks to
often hide their free will and independence from a judging society and give the
illusion of fitting in due to their Victorian and Southern American
restrictions, (please see my earlier blog on masks ), this is contrasted by
Heidi who is much less apologetic on her ambition and free will as she is a coming of age baby boomer in a modern world
with albeit present but lesser restrictions. This contrast is highlighted by
outcome where Hedda, unable to come to terms with her life, tired of the
illusion commits suicide as death means freedom and release. On the other hand Blanche fears death ,whose delusional escapism world leads her tragically to the asylum when reality wins. On the other hand, Heidi comes to peace with her lot and starts a new
chapter where single at forty, adopts a child with forward thinking hope
despite the grievances of her past.
Both HG and SCND are
set in short time frames with references to the past that has shaped them and
their present fragile emotional states whereas the over twenty year time line
of HC sets the theme of the changing role of women. Heidi is educated and
intelligent trying to make it in a society dominated by men. This is shown in
the chosen title which reveals the post world war 2 coming of age of women.
Heidi from her naiveté as a school girl with political radicalism in the
1960’s, militant feminism in the 1970’s
to her betrayal and disillusion in the 1980’s where she evolves to a Columbia University professor. Wassertein almost blames the
women’s movement where women are seen as trivial and men as serious as Heidi
finds her bearings in a changing world. In contrast Blanche and Hedda are more
obvious victims. The title where Hedda
holds onto her maiden name symbolizes her independence as does the awe she
exudes to the other characters while in SCND the title symbolizes her journey
as an allegoric trajectory of her life to achieve her desires but in a ironic
foreshadow of her suicide she takes another streetcar named cemeteries to
Eysian fields ( Greek allusion both
which allude to the death of her soul. )
In setting; SCND is
confined to a tiny apartment with the street visible showing the metaphor of
Blanche being unable to leave her real world problems as she resides as an
intruder in a hostile confined environment. Similarly HG is set in a few rooms
in a home which ironically she pretended she wanted as the perfect wife but in
reality is not her sanctuary but her incarceration as she spends her time
rearranging the furniture in her frustration. In contrast HC, moves through
varies settings as the story and Heidi progresses in maturity.
The past is a defining theme as shown in the guns in HG
which not mere toys but represent a happier care free symbol of her former life
and ironically allow her to escape in death. The guns also represent her
masculinity in a phallic symbol. The portrait of her father and the piano link
her to her past and are shifted as they no longer belong in her new life. The
curtains act as a motif to shut out the world and live out the darkness of her
heart and in her play acting close the final act and grand finale of her
suicide. Flowers that she rearranges also acts as a motif for Hedda’s death and
future while the reference to a Mexican woman selling flowers for the dead and Blanche’s
reaction of horror in scene 9 of
SCND foreshadows Blanche’s figurative death. Similarly, in SCND Blanche hides the loss of
her youth and beauty from Mitch in dim
light as she shuns the present and lives in her former glory until forced by
Mitch to stand under the light. This symbolizes her regressive nature to hold
on to better times where she lived in high society with a husband she loved,
before her loved ones died and her stately home is taken away. The motif of
light such as the covering of the lamp with a lantern show the metaphor that light
is her innocence and youth and dark her maturity and disillusion. In contrast
Heidi lives far more for the present and future though she too haunted by
ghosts of the past and tries to escape her mistakes by taking a job in Minnesota until
persuaded otherwise by Peter as he looks at her past as symbolized by boxes of
records and books. Light and dark do not appear as metaphors in HC.
Music plays prominence as a symbol in all three plays. In HG
in the piano representing the music of happier times while in HC the music
chronicles her life and the era and mirrors her feelings like “Respect “
playing in the background during the feminist meeting in the church. In SCND
only Blanche can hear the Varsouviana polka which haunts her guilt at her
husband’s suicide and her singing of “Paper Moon” drowns out Stanley’s vocal ranting of her unsavory
character and adds to her delusion that her lies are believable.
All three plays show the protagonists dependence on men as a
theme, like a damsel in distress and the
characterization of the men as foils add to this. Blanche desperately wants to
marry Mitch for security and deludes herself on a rich savior of Shep Huntleigh
to rescue her. Hedda has lost her lover Lovborg and is forced to rely on Tesman
as a husband and caretaker after her
father General Gabler’s demise. Though Heidi is the most self reliant of the
trio she still relies on the crumbs given out to her by Scoop, waiting for his
calls and being defined by him only to be betrayed, and leans on the gay Peter
for as an emotional crutch. Peter even remarks on the allusion of Peter and
Heidi in the Swiss novel as the little girl lost, but the contrast is that
ultimately Heidi rescues herself where Blanche and Hedda fail. All novels show
the theme of women as sexual beings to be used by men like the womanizing
Scoop. In HC women are described as meat and in SCND Stanley throws a piece of
meat in scene 1 and in the end rapes Blanche. Hedda too is used sexually by the
men in her life such as Lovborg, Tesman and the Judge who wants an extramarital
affair with her. However, while Blanche and Hedda exploit their femininity and
sexuality for manipulative purposes, Heidi is much less feminine in her
approach relying on her personality than body.
The baby and love and
sexuality act as a symbol in all three
plays where it is positive in HC where the adoption represents a new beginning
of pure love but in SCND Stella’s pregnancy reminds her of everything Blanche
never had with her husband and the ticking biological clock as she desperately
searches for a husband. More dramatically the pregnant Hedda hides and hates
her pregnancy as it will simply further imprison her in a loveless marriage and
her suicide ends this burden. Taking this further the manuscript is the
metaphor for the ‘baby’ of Lovborg and Thea and her jealousy comes to a head as
she burns it to destroy their happiness. The fire in fact foreshadows Hedda’s death and contrasts her lack of passion and
warmth towards others. Heidi and her group burn lingerie to rid themselves of
sexual beings. The reference to vine leaves by Hedda for Lovborg acts as the allusion of Dioysus the Greek god of partying and
fertility as she fantasizes about in the old alcoholic days where he would
rebel from society taboos to be with her. In a situational irony she ends up
encouraging Lovborg’s death despite her desire for him, with her gun having
killed his ‘child’ the manuscript while rejecting domestic bliss with Tesman as
symbolized with her careless attitude towards the slippers bought by his aunt.
On the other in SCND the allusion to the Browning poem and the lighter
represent Blanche’s lost love which has increased post her husband’s death. On
the other hand despite Heidi’s love for Scoop she shies away from commitment
despite her jealousy at his marriage and the recurring motif of art reveals her
rebellion against traditional mating rituals as she fights for women
representation in the art world.
The three plays are centrally the journey of three very
different women tied by their desire to be free. The path to their self
discovery, liberation and outcome may be varied but all three women show their
solidarity in their convictions which they hold onto till the end.
