Projection of Female Agency in Tennessee Williams’s The Rose Tattoo

Abstract

The major thrust of this thesis is to project female agency in Tennessee Williams's play,The Rose Tattoo. Most of the female characters in the play believe that they have the right to decide on the circumstances under which the sexual act should be performed. They could also determine most of the decisions that measures in their lives. This new mentality puts them on the path to self-transitions. Itis awakening that consists in a pair of silk stockings that attract subjugated person into self-assertion. The esthetic and sensitive self is awakened by a simple touch. Transformation takes place. The former self of the higher social classes takes over the entire personality. An agent of awakening experiences is not only a discovery of the self but also a rediscovery of her own body. It has been entrapped and enslaved by domestic labor that has alienated her genuine physical potential. The focus is on an individual's awakening which takes place when she experiences a self-discovery achieved by means of the assessment of her own body and sexuality. Serafina duty as wife and mother causes frustration and rebellion against the oppressive system. A submissive and sentimentally coy woman has become isolated from the politics of choice. She used to feel trapped within the household sphere. But at last she gets rid of it. Key words: Female, agency, praises, respect