The Role of Women in America Around 1945

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The Role of Women in America Around 1945

A Streetcar named Desire written by Tennessee William, show the reality of 1945, where women had a lower status than men thus implying a lower importance. There was a clear inequality between genders, perhaps as a function of the war and the need for everything to be “normal” again. Both the book A Streetcar named Desire, and the general society of 1945, show the same ideals of how a woman should be in order to fit into society. This is particularly the case with the film, where the American ideal has been streamlined.

Tennessee Williams portrays contemporary women at the time when he wrote A Streetcar named Desire, 1945. Women in general were considered less worthy and they did not have a strong position in society. He sees women as victims, unknowingly creating chaos just because they are indecisive and do not stand up to their intolerable situations but rather readjust their behaviour and expectations to correspond to their situation.

The ideal of woman in 1945’s America was a woman with the characteristics of being perfectly behaved, pretty, shy, charming, patient and she should not work professionally but stay at home as a housewife and take care of the nuclear family and the household. (Willis) When the men came home again after fighting for the nation in the Second World War, it was seen as the men should get their jobs back because they were superior to the woman, and that the woman were only seen as a substitute for the men, in order for the nation to work properly during the war. Also when the men came back from the war in 1945, women were seen by society as less competent and not having the required qualities for the jobs they were doing. (Callard) The male in 1945 was sti...

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...iseGEEK Clear Answers for Common Questions, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .

- Callard, Garrett. "Traditional Gender Roles at Large in the Media." Traditional Gender Roles at Large in the Media. Wiki Team 17, Apr. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. .

- Darby, Rufus H:. "Internet History Sourcebooks." Internet History Sourcebooks. Fordham University, 1997. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. .

- Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. "Women's Right Movement in US." Infoplease. Infoplease, 2007. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .

- Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire: A Play. New York: New Directions, 1947. Print.

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