Femininity. ‘The quality of being feminine; womanliness.’ This is a concept that is widely explored in Adichie’s ‘Americanah’ and William’s ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Although the two texts are set with over sixty years between them, both clearly highlight what it is that makes a woman a woman and how different characters in the texts adhere to these female stereotypes laid out to them by society. Williams ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is set in 1947. The great depression was over and there was a revitalised ‘American dream’ which was particularly evident in New Orleans, known as the ‘melting pot’ of the USA. Although America’s feminist movement didn’t occur till the 1960’s, a woman’s role in the 1940’s was already starting to change rapidly, and William’s explores this predominantly through characters such as Stella. Towards the start of the play she is presented as rather dominant, however as the play continues we come to realise that she so thoroughly depends on Stanley that even when he abuses her she comes running back, therefore suggesting that she does indeed adhere to the classic female stereotype. On the other hand we have Adichie’s ‘Americanah’ set only a few years ago we are familiar with the ideas of feminism and expect western societies to be accepting and supportive of such movements that promote equality, yet Adichie uses the character of Ifemelu to demonstrate that societies ideas of femininity can be restricting for women and throughout the novel we experience her struggle as she tries to fit into society but also maintain her individualism.
Both Adichie and Williams explore ideas of stereotypes and femininity through characters speech, actions and thoughts. Williams focusses on two main female characters throughout the play. Stella, a practical, calm woman who attempts to make everybody happy, and Blanche, a sensitive, fading Southern Belle. Both characters demonstrate two different types of femininity but ultimately both end up getting either emotionally or physically abused by the antagonist, Stanley. Stella, having grown up in the South, decided that the life of a southern belle was not something she aspired to and made the decision to move to New Orleans where she met and married Stanley. However, it becomes evident that even after moving to the cultural hub of New Orleans, she is still portrayed as a stereotypical 1940’s woman. She married young, does all the domestic labour and is pregnant with Stanley’s child, as this is what is expected of her, “How about my supper, huh? I’m not going to no Galatoires for supper!” Nonetheless, Williams does not present her as completely oppressed and in fact throughout the play there are many moments in which Stella talks back and stands up for herself and Blanche, “Don’t be such an idiot, Stanley!”, “Hush!” This helps support the argument that Stella is an independent woman who has made all these choices for herself and does in fact love Stanley, as put by Koprince “Stella is drawn to his vitality and sexual charm.” Even so, feminists would dispute that she is in fact a victim to a patriarchal society, a society in which “a woman accepts spousal abuse in order to be provided for, and deludes herself into thinking that she is happy in this role.”(Foley)
Stellas migration experience can be easily compared with Ifemelu’s. Both move out of their hometowns, in search for something new and enriching and this demonstrates how women were continually seeking greater freedom and independance. However, once both characters had reached their destinations, Stella becomes more comparable to characters such as Kosi rather than Ifemelu. Kosi, Obinze’s wife, described as being “so extraordinarily beautiful, yet so ordinary, predictable and domestic and dedicated”. She strives hard to be the perfect wife, always agreeing with everybody else around her. Because of this she fails to gain the confidence to express her own thoughts and opinions on matters such as school or marriage thus resulting in Obinze cheating on her with Ifemelu. However, Kosi might not be completely to blame for this. Having been born and raised in Nigeria, a country that is considered rather traditional when it comes to gender roles, she has most likely been taught from a young age that instead of focussing her attention on voicing her opinions, she should concentrate on being a ‘good woman’, finding marriage and having children. Adichie’s presentation of Kosi is that of a stereotypical housewife and her femininity and beauty is often what people remember her by, “perfect incline to her cheekbones that made her entire face seem so alive, so architectural, lifting when she smiled.” She is happy accepting things as they are and her attitude towards important issues contrasts greatly to more perceptive and strong willed characters such as Ifemelu.
When commenting on ideas such as femininity and stereotyping, it becomes easy to criticise authors such as Williams for presenting women as nothing more than oppressed victims. However, it is important to remember that we are reading his plays from a 21st century viewpoint and for Williams, ideas such as feminism had not yet been explored and therefore many of his characters are based on stereotypes. For the audience it would’ve been easier to perceive the person as belonging to a ‘group/category’ rather than seeing them as a unique individual. Even so, it can be argued that Blanche is not a typical victim. Williams presents her as manipulative, seductive and secretive, traits which one would not associate with an ‘oppressed victim’. Perhaps he is intentionally showing this side of Blanche to challenge the stereotype of women as victims. Despite her characteristic traits, when looking at the physical descriptions of Blanche, we are immediately presented with a delicate, sophisticated lady as the stage directions state “She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat…” Described as being dressed in white immediately creates connotations with virginity and pureness, concepts that were particularly important in the 40’s as they were often used as a judgement on whether the woman was of a refined, cultivated nature . Blanches upper class mannerisms are evident and her use of “correct grammar, varied syntax and vocabulary containing Latinisms” further demonstrates that she has had a high standard of education and is intelligent enough to live a full life without having to depend on the men around her. However, this is not the case for Blanche. Instead, because of her fatal first marriage, she spends her life seeking the acceptance and love of the men she surrounds herself with. This then results in her moving from place to place with no real stability, relying on others for financial support. In the 1940’s “Single women who were forced to work to support themselves were often more liable to be committed if they became unable to work” thus William’s tragic end to the play, where we are presented with a deranged Blanche being escorted out of the apartment.
Blanche’s reliance on men is similar to that of Aunty Uju’s in ‘Americanah’. Aunty Uju is a strong willed woman who is also the General’s mistress. Being a rather intelligent woman, she recognizes that “we live in an ass-licking economy” and this seems to be evident in her rather transactional relationship with the General. Clearly Aunty Uju has adhered to the female stereotype as she allows the general to “take care of her” as she stays at home acquiring the womanly roles of shopping and socialising. She focusses on her femininity by using face lightening creams and avoiding the sun, and does so to please the general and fit in with the other rich wives of the Lagos community. Nigeria differs greatly from western societies and when it comes to gender roles many women spend their lives thinking that “everything they do must revolve around the end goal of marriage and motherhood.” Even when women do find employment, they do not want to seem too independant otherwise this could affect their chances of getting married. This is noticeable in Americanah, however when the General dies and Aunty Uju moves to America we see a new side to her independence. Moving to the other side of the world both culturally and globally will present difficulties, however Aunty Uju demonstrates traits that set her apart from female stereotypes. She understands that to survive in America adaptation is necessary, and tells Ifemelu that “I have to take my braids out for my interviews and relax my hair… If you have braids, they will think you are unprofessional.” Sacrificing her individualism for something that may not feel comfortable to her means that she is also sacrificing her self-confidence and individual femininity.
When exploring ideas such as femininity, sexuality can play a significant role and themes of sexual desire are evident in both texts. “Sexuality can be deeply influenced by social expectations.” Society has the power to shape, shame and empower female sexuality and because both texts are set with over sixty years between them we are presented with two vastly different representations of how this sexual desire is depicted. “A Streetcar Named Desire” is one of the few plays to be put on Broadway that explores issues of brutalism and lust. This shocked the mid-century audience and there was great controversy surrounding the climatic rape scene. William’s was a writer ahead of his time, the way in which he flips gender roles, presenting Stella as the erotic one who is seduced by Stanleys ruggedness and animalistic tendencies “He smashed all the light-bulbs with the heel of my slipper!..I was – sort of – thrilled by it.” The way in which Stellas sexuality is presented would’ve been rather empowering at the time, however when William’s explores Blanches relationship we see how female sexuality would not always be seen as empowering. Having had relationships with many men, Blanche has a reputation for being rather promiscuous “Come here. I want to kiss you, just once, softly and sweetly on your mouth!” Her reputation does not do her any favours and results in people abusing her both sexually and emotionally, this is demonstrated when Mitch, a supposedly sensitive, kind man attempts to take advantage of her after finding out she is not who she says she is “you’re not clean enough to bring into the house with my mother.”