AQA A-Level English Literature:
Comparative Essay
Comparing Representations of Power and Gender in 'The Handmaid’s
Tale' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Both Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel 'The Handmaid’s Tale' and Tennessee Williams’s
play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' explore themes of power and gender within patriarchal
structures. Atwood crafts a speculative society in Gilead where women’s autonomy has
been eradicated through religious extremism, while Williams portrays post-war America, a
world rife with traditional gender roles and toxic masculinity. This essay will provide an in-
depth comparison of how power dynamics are gendered in each text, focusing on
characterisation, language, and structural choices.
1. Patriarchal Power Structures
In 'The Handmaid’s Tale', patriarchal power is institutionalised and omnipresent.
Theocratic law enforces a strict division of gender roles, with women categorised as Wives,
Marthas, or Handmaids, and stripped of rights. Atwood’s Offred internalises her
subjugation, noting: 'we were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank
white spaces at the edges of print.' This metaphor reveals the erasure of female identity and
agency. In contrast, Williams’s 'A Streetcar Named Desire' depicts patriarchy in more
personal, domestic terms. Stanley Kowalski wields power through physical dominance and
aggression, representing brute masculinity. His assertion, 'every man is a king!' underscores
the entitlement and hierarchy rooted in gender.
2. Female Resistance and Complicity
While both texts expose women’s oppression, they also explore the complexities of female
resistance and complicity. In Gilead, resistance is covert—Offred steals moments of
rebellion through memory and illicit relationships. Yet women like Serena Joy, who once
advocated traditional roles, become complicit in their own subjugation. In Williams’s play,
Blanche DuBois resists the realities of her diminished social status by retreating into
fantasy, clinging to past Southern ideals of femininity. Her delusion, encapsulated in 'I don’t
want realism. I want magic!', highlights the psychological toll of powerlessness.
3. Language and Symbolism as Tools of Control
Language is a battleground in both texts. Atwood manipulates language to show its role in
shaping ideology—Gileadean slogans like 'Blessed be the fruit' and 'Under His Eye' function
as constant surveillance and control. Williams, on the other hand, uses rich, Southern Gothic
symbolism and expressionist techniques. The use of light and music in 'Streetcar'—
Blanche’s aversion to bright light and the recurring 'Varsouviana' tune—symbolise
vulnerability and mental decline under the pressures of patriarchal judgment.
Comparative Essay
Comparing Representations of Power and Gender in 'The Handmaid’s
Tale' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Both Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel 'The Handmaid’s Tale' and Tennessee Williams’s
play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' explore themes of power and gender within patriarchal
structures. Atwood crafts a speculative society in Gilead where women’s autonomy has
been eradicated through religious extremism, while Williams portrays post-war America, a
world rife with traditional gender roles and toxic masculinity. This essay will provide an in-
depth comparison of how power dynamics are gendered in each text, focusing on
characterisation, language, and structural choices.
1. Patriarchal Power Structures
In 'The Handmaid’s Tale', patriarchal power is institutionalised and omnipresent.
Theocratic law enforces a strict division of gender roles, with women categorised as Wives,
Marthas, or Handmaids, and stripped of rights. Atwood’s Offred internalises her
subjugation, noting: 'we were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank
white spaces at the edges of print.' This metaphor reveals the erasure of female identity and
agency. In contrast, Williams’s 'A Streetcar Named Desire' depicts patriarchy in more
personal, domestic terms. Stanley Kowalski wields power through physical dominance and
aggression, representing brute masculinity. His assertion, 'every man is a king!' underscores
the entitlement and hierarchy rooted in gender.
2. Female Resistance and Complicity
While both texts expose women’s oppression, they also explore the complexities of female
resistance and complicity. In Gilead, resistance is covert—Offred steals moments of
rebellion through memory and illicit relationships. Yet women like Serena Joy, who once
advocated traditional roles, become complicit in their own subjugation. In Williams’s play,
Blanche DuBois resists the realities of her diminished social status by retreating into
fantasy, clinging to past Southern ideals of femininity. Her delusion, encapsulated in 'I don’t
want realism. I want magic!', highlights the psychological toll of powerlessness.
3. Language and Symbolism as Tools of Control
Language is a battleground in both texts. Atwood manipulates language to show its role in
shaping ideology—Gileadean slogans like 'Blessed be the fruit' and 'Under His Eye' function
as constant surveillance and control. Williams, on the other hand, uses rich, Southern Gothic
symbolism and expressionist techniques. The use of light and music in 'Streetcar'—
Blanche’s aversion to bright light and the recurring 'Varsouviana' tune—symbolise
vulnerability and mental decline under the pressures of patriarchal judgment.
