Setting in Streetcar and Malfi

Setting in Streetcar and Malfi

Similarities Differences

Male-dominate, androcentric, patriarchal
An established etiquette (not adhered to by
some, which will provide the play's conflict)
Female leads don't fit in (which will provide
the play's conflict)
Negative aspects - decay, corruption
Imagery of death/decay
Louche moral code
Animal imagery
Sense of claustrophobia
There are unmentioned, idealistic
comparisons - Belle Reve and French court
Malfi: Hierarchy found in the place that each
character holds in court; Streetcar: Hierarchy
is that Stanley is the alpha male, then the
other men, then the women, all within the
same class except Blanche
Malfi's setting is exposed and open while
Streetcar's is domestic and personal
Malfi's physical setting is ornate while
Streetcar's is weathered and decayed
Malfi: court etiquette established by Delio and
Antonio'c conversation about the French and
Italian courts and later by Ferdinand's
demands that a the courtiers are only to
laugh when he wants them to; Streetcar: the
'etiquette' of New Orleans is of moral
looseness and general openness

Sense of stagnation of people in Malfi and Webster used the Malfi court to critique that
buildings in Streetcar of James I, while Williams appeared to
merely be presenting his own romanticised
version of New Orleans

Overall comparison

There are similarities in the atmospheres of the settings and the way in which conflict is created by
characters' ability - or not - to fit in. However, there are certainly physical differences, though settings
are used by the playwright for different political/personal goals.