"Women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus"

• in this quote you can see how the women are considered inferior as the "belong" to a man in power

• this objectifies women as they are considered objects

"The second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines"

• within the book of Esther there is a repetition of "keeper of women" in this quote you can see how beyond that role there is a "keeper of concubines" this suggests that women require supervision or control over them --> this control being that of a male in power --> suppressing women

• "custody" suggests that women or Esther do not belong to themselves --> they can be owned by males only

"Province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey"

• portrays women as "prey" suggesting men are predators and have power and strength over them

• "assault" suggests physical or sexual harm coming to the women which further exhibits the control men have over women in TBOE

Contrasts with Streetcar

• Stella gets beaten when defying Stanley thus she could be considered "prey" as there are many references to Stanley being "animal" or "ape like"

Contrasts with Veg

• There are consequences that follow Yeong-Hye after defying her husband like being sent to a hospital this is similar to how queen Vashti was sent away from the palace.

• Both females

1) Stanley physically abuses Stella during the poker scene, however, she comes back to him after he apologises. This is due to the lust in the relationship and the man being the person of authority. Stella believes that she is incomplete without Stanley and thus listens to Stanley when he calls her back regardless of the fact that tshe experiences abuse.

2)

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Housepoints for expl/analysis of references/quotes.

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Housepoints for expl/analysis of references/quotes.

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1) Blanche gets raped by Stanley at the end of scene 10.

• Throughout the play, Blanche has challenged Stanley by describing him as "ape-like" and "sub-human" to Stella. She has gone against the expectation of what an ideal woman is suppose to be. Due to this, she is suppressed by the more powerful male and it leads to her suffering. The shadows and the pulsing music indicate Blanche's suffering and her assault.

• This is similar to when Mr Cheong assaults Yeong-hye. This highlights how women are met with sexual violence when they assert bodily autonomy.

2) One clear example of women being depicted as inferior to men is in scene 3 where Stanley hits Stella during the poker game.

• This act of violence is a direct consequence of Stella challenging Stanley’s authority by asking him to stop the game and by turning on the radio. This highlights how women who try to take control will be met with violence and suffering. The men are depicted as superior to the women through their bold primary color clothing and poker: a symbol of masculinity.

• This act of violence is similar to what Yeong-hye experienced when her father hit her.

3) Another example is scene 7 where Stanley reveals Blanche’s past to Stella and Mitch.

• This act of exposing Blanche’s secrets is a way for Stanley to reassert his dominance and control over the women in his life. Blanche’s attempt to create a new identity and escape her past is shattered by Stanley’s actions, showing the severe consequences she faces for trying to challenge the status quo.

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Evidence: "Gradually, the other guests learned to ignore her presence and the conversation started to flow again"

Yeong-hye's act of rebellion in not eating meat resulted in the rest of society treating her as an outcast.

Evidence: "The slap had knocked my wife's mouth open he'd managed to jam the pork in"

The use of the verbs 'slap', 'knocked', and 'jam' serve to create a lexical field of violence. Yeong-hye was once again punished for not eating meat, with her father responding to this act of disobedience by violiently forcing her to eat meat against her will.

Evidence: "No one can understand me…the doctors, the nurses, they’re all the same…they don't even try to understand…they just force me to take medication, and stab me with needles."

The concept of understanding or lack there of is a reccuring theme throughout the Vegetarian as it explores the idea of rebellion against societal norms being met with conflict

"And Haman told them of the glory of his riches"

• Wealth is connected to value for men --> glory is equal to money or monetary value

• Power and money come hand in hand

• Whilst boasting about money or glory is how men exude power or control over others putting themselves above others

  
  

"How he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king"

• In this quote Haman is boasting about his promotion and his gain of power

• This quote portrays men as power hungry and greedy as well as controlling seeing as Haman takes such delight in holding power over the other men in power at the palace

  
  

"Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes,"

• rebelling against a man in power is a sign of disloyalty

• it means that the Queen no longer deserved her position of power and she was striped of it

• Dishonouring or disrespecting a man lead to negative consequences as they were not able to control Vashti

1) Similar to Mr Cheong, Stanley asserts his dominance through violence and sexual abuse. He rapes Blanche to "show her her place" as she defied him and went against the expectations of a good woman in that era. It also emphasis the fact that men can only achieve power through violence since it fits in the standard of what society defines as a"real" or hegemonic men.

2) Similar to the King in Book of Esther, Alcohol is presented as a symbol of masculinity. Alcohol leads to men making harsh decisions which effect women negatively. The king was always intoxicated, hence he dismissed Vashti. Stanley was partially intoxicated so his animalistic instinct came out and led to the Blanche's rape.

3) "Every man is a King! And I am the king around here".

The exclaimation mark expresses the aggressive and controlling tone of Stanley. Stanley exclaims to Blanche that he is the king in the household and Blanche should merely obey his judgement. Furthermore, the idea that men are kings is an aspect of hegemonic masculinity that is shared with the Book of Esther when the King Ahasuerus believed, "Every man should bear rule in his own house".

Evidence: "Pinning down her struggling arms and tugging off her trousers, I became unexpectedly aroused".

Mr. Cheong uses violence in order to control Yeong-hye, forcing her to engage in adultery with him to satisfy his pent up frustrations. This is the first of many times in which Yeong-hye gets punished, violently controlled into submission by men for not conforming to societal norms

Evidence: "The slap had knocked my wife's mouth open he'd managed to jam the pork in"

The use of the verbs 'slap', 'knocked', and 'jam' serve to create a lexical field of violence. Yeong-hye was once again punished for not eating meat, with her father responding to this act of disobedience by violiently forcing her to eat meat against her will. Yet again, another example of men using violence to control women

"But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him."

Evidence Y

Evidence Z

"There wasn't any special attraction, nor did any particular drawbacks present themselves, and therefore there was no reason for the two of us not to get married".

"You're insane! You've completely lost it".

Upon not being handed his things and seeing him off, Mr. Cheong get's furious with Yeong-hye. This depicts the traditional norms of a patriarchal society where the women are expected to tend to their husbands needs and wants

Evidence Z