Williams and Yates set their works in the post-World War II American conformist society and illustrate the terrible effects of this society on women through the genre of modern tragedy. A Streetcar Named Desire is set in 1947, in the atypical American setting of New Orleans, full of different cultures and nationalities that allow Williams to present the growing tensions between conflicting social, racial and gender groups. Williams describes A Streetcar Named Desire as a play about the "savage and brutal forces of modern society", although these "brutal forces" seem to have calmed in 1955 Connecticut, the setting of Yate's Revolutionary Road, where April still suffers from the constraints imposed on women. in a post-war suburban society. Yates and Williams explore crucial issues of the hypocritical constraint of female desire; the destabilizing limits of gender roles, the fatal subjugation of the female voice, the scarcity of individuality, repressive male domination and their damaging effects through the culmination of Blanche's agonizing collapse and April's tragic death. These women address the issues that emerged during this era of constricting social conformity that arose due to the evolution of society after the extraordinary turbulence of the Second World War: one through the form of a fluid show of eleven scenes and the other through a three-part novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay April and Blanche are limited by the constraints of their contrasting but equally limiting societies that leave them unable to express their true natures. It can be argued that Blanche's true nature is that of aspirational determination to improve her life; Blanche tells Stella, when trying to convince her to leave Stanley, that she wants to "make a new life for myself". This goal of transformation conveys his hidden drive, and the fact that he desires “a new life” illustrates his dissatisfaction with his place in society due to choosing the word “new” rather than another life. This is related to the fact that Blanche tells Stella, “I don't want realism, I want magic,” as she chooses to ignore real life, which shows that she doesn't feel comfortable in society. In this way Blanche fails to reflect the society around her and instead lashes out against it. Like Blanche, April questions society, her true nature can be seen as that of an outsider to society. When talking to Frank, during the preparations for the move to Paris, April wonders if "moral" and "conventional" have the same meaning, this shows that she sees society as corrupt because she thinks that what happens in society then becomes what is correct – 'convention', thus portraying her critical nature as part of what makes her a social outsider. Julia Milhouse sees this comment as Yates' way of conveying April's role as an "all-round villain-heroin", this can be supported by the fact that April is not influenced by passing fads and fads that drive society, in this way she is a hero, as she continues to claim. long live the progression of the revolution. Similarly, it can be argued that Blanche feels forced by society's expectations of her previous status to act like a Southern belle, in her first appearance she has an "uncertain manner" and is dressed in "white clothes". The "uncertain ways" convey the effects of her unfortunate past, as society accepts her male ancestor's affairs, but not her own, which leaves her uncertain of the role she shouldperform as a woman, shunned by the tense society in which she lives. Blanche is dressed in “white”; this implies that she is attempting to maintain the pretense of herself. White is the symbol of purity, which is contrary to her sexually promiscuous nature which she tries to hide. George Hovis suspected that Blanche had become "trapped in the role of beauty". Hovis's view is supported by society's expectation that women remain as pure as the Virgin Mary, who was idolized as a model figure of purity. April believes she is different in order to escape the trap of society, this is because other characters describe her as "special", while April sees the use of the word as a position outside of society, others see it in a positive light, but only while she is complying. After April's move to Paris fails, she realizes that she and Frank are "just like the people" she considered limited by society and she is not "special". It can be argued that April continues to resist seeing herself as constrained, the use of the simile “like” creates similarity and not a direct comparison, thus demonstrating that she is still holding on to the hope of her true nature. It may be this stubborn desire that leads to her premature death and refusal to play the role that is destroying her inside. Thus, both women likely reflect the social development of an American society in which their individualism was, ironically for the land of the free, considered a threat. Like many women living in post-World War II America, Blanche and April are limited by the rigid gender roles that structure their lives. Blanche is a female figure who has partly broken the constraint of her gender role by having a job, in the 1940s women could only take on caring roles, such as breastfeeding, in which they were probably performing an extension of their role maternal. It is evident that women were not meant to be independent as socially accepted jobs such as teaching, Blanche's profession, provided only a “miserable salary”. The use of the word “pitiful” connotes that the pay is charitable and reflects the way slaves were treated in the old South. It can be interpreted that Williams is portraying women as slaves to their gender role, through their forced dependence on assets. Blanche's forced dependence on men is comparable to April's self-imposed dependence on Frank. This is demonstrated by April's inability to make decisions independently of her husband, when she plans to move to Paris she says: "I would like to start immediately". The choice of phrase "like" conveys April's insecurity as she tries to gain Frank's consent. Blanche and April's dependence on men would be seen by women today as repressive, due to the contrast between the freedom that women in modern America can exercise and the limited perspectives of the 1940s and 1950s settings of A Streetcar Named Desire and Revolutionary Rd. The end of each text creates a sense that the limits of defined gender roles are ingrained, as at the end of Streetcar Named Desire Stella is seduced by Stanley, as his "fingers find the opening of her blouse". This creates continuity in the woman's repression as, regardless of Stanley's role in Blanche's incarceration in a mental institution, Stella conforms to her role as Stanley's wife and possession. Similarly, Yates concludes Revolutionary Road with Mrs Givings, a status-obsessed woman who serves as a symbol of social conformity, describing April to her husband as “unhealthy.” This criticism of a woman's failure to conform describes the extent to which society has been indoctrinated bygender roles, creating a hopeless perspective for women, causing April and Blanche to reflect on the women of their time and future. Williams and Yates each highlight the voiceless class of women, at a time when the 19th Amendment granted American women the right to vote. Through Blanche's talkative nature, Williams illustrates the struggle women have had to endure in trying to make their voices heard, this can be inferred as a reflection of the lack of support women's voices have received throughout history, with the writer Mary Evans who resorts to writing under a male pseudonym. to allow his work a fair evaluation. These voiceless women are played by Blanche whose voice, at the end of the play, "nervously dies". Blanche is highly reflective of society, as just like the Old South her influence is waning with time. The phrase "dies" is a metaphor for the way in which the opportunities women gained during World War II were withdrawn, mirroring the decline of Blanche's voice in the play. Some literary commentators have blamed Stanley for Blanche's loss of voice, Shirley Galloway said that "Stanley subjugates Blanche, and all that she represents, in the same way that men have subjugated women for centuries", although Blanche's subjugation on Stanley's part reflects the Nature crosses gender relations throughout the story, he cannot be held solely responsible, as the society they live in unitedly tries to restrain Blanche, which results in her decline. Similarly, Yates's use of multi-perspective form in Revolutionary Road allows him to represent women's disempowerment (though not through words) in the structural and literal lack of April's voice in the novel. As Sabrina Patrizio says "her voice is contained until the last moments of her life", this is supported by the form of the text, with few chapters focusing on her perspective while the majority of the novel comes from Frank's point of view. The uneven distribution of the narrative reflects the inequality of opportunity in the relationship between Frank and April. Therefore, April, as Sabrina Patrizio states, reflects the "silent class" of 20th century women, like Blanche. Blanche and April reflect the changing ideals in societies, as they both struggle with the expectations of women's domestic life, which have driven the culture of New Orleans along with Connecticut. The pressure of social expectations has a seismic impact on April opportunities; he tells Frank that they only "had another [child] to prove that the first one wasn't a mistake." The word “try” connotes that April was trying to conform while going against her will to hide a “mistake,” so that society would not look down on her. From the use of the word “had” it can be inferred that Yates was trying to portray women as having no choice since they “had” to fulfill their function as mothers. Restrictions on women's choices have been a key problem in America, with abortions illegal until 1975, hence the lack of freedom April felt about having children would have been relatable to female readers in 20th century America. The issue of women's right to abortion is still a hotly contested issue today, with feminists firmly believing that women should have control over their own bodies. April is therefore representative of the emerging feminist elements of society as she "made it all about herself", which can be seen as her tragic regaining of control over her body in the face of the male-dominated government, which sought to ban abortions ..