There could be a few ways that the theme of madness is woven in Hamlet and A Streetcar Named Desire.
First of all, in Hamlet, Hamlet pretends to be mad in order to try to decide how to act upon what the Ghost has told him. That is, that Claudius murdered his father. As well, in pretending to be mad, Hamlet becomes privy to conversations that would not have taken place while he is present. His act of madness is in contrast to Ophelia's real madness which results in her death. Of course, her father's untimely death provides a reason for her decline; however, it could be surmised that Hamlet's rejection of her was another reason for her insanity. She sings, “You promised me to wed, / So would I ‘a’ done, by yonder sun, / An thou hadst not come to my bed” (4.5.62-64). Ophelia's songs and rhymes illustrate that Hamlet's abandonment of her, breaking his promise to marry her, has been the final blow to her sanity.
In Streetcar, the theme of madness is illustrated in the character of Blanche DuBois. Like Ophelia, Blanche descends into madness by the end of the play. At first, she appears as merely self-delusional and attempts to act as an innocent, Southern belle. However, it is revealed that Blanche has had quite a few men in her life, and her affairs ended badly. Similar to Ophelia, Blanche also has music that plays in her head, the Varsouviana, the polka that played as her husband killed himself. By the end of the play, Blanche cannot distinguish reality from fantasy just as Ophelia. However, instead of dying, she is taken to a mental institution. Both female characters suffer at the hands of men and both end up going mad.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
How does the theme of madness connect between hamlet and a streetcar named desire?
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