A Streetcar Named Desire Flashcards
Authorial context
Tennessee Williams 1911-1983
Difficult personal life- sister with schizophrenia- problems with alcohol and drugs- homosexuality
Boyfriend Pancho used to colour the character of Stanley.
Historical context
Streetcar first performed in 1947
Set in 1940s America
New Age vs Old World
Cultural context
New Orleans has the oldest operating street railway in the US.
Desire line established in 1920 but replaced in 1948 by bus.
The sounds become a part of everyday life
Social context
Stanley represents the American Dream
Blanche represents the Old South.
Class and race distinctions not important within New Orleans, which is why Stella and Stanley seem to make a fine match.
Civil war after the abolition of slavery.
Southern whites wanted to revert back to old way of living
Geographical context
Born in Mississippi in the Deep South of America.
Play set in the French quarter- influenced by Spanish architecture.
Gender roles
In the South, social status derived from the family.
Role of the husband to provide and protect
Role of the Wife to nurture the family.
Southern ladies seen as ‘Belles’- delicate and fragile.
Theatre styles
Realism
Romanticism
Epic Theatre
Plastic Theatre
STAGE DIRECTIONS “Stanley carries his bowling jacket and a red-stained package from a butcher’s”
Stanley’s outfit evocative of the working class and the new world.
Working class ‘American Dream’
Foreshadowing.
“Then put the bottle away so she wont be tempted… I want you to look at my figure”
Appearance vs reality of her alcoholism
Physically and mentally stuck in the past.
Melodrama
An exaggerated drama, often dealing with sensational or romantic topics.
Van Gogh The Night Café
The Night Café
-red and green represents the “terrible human passions”
-harshness- Stanley’s brutal directness
-a personal is drawn to ‘go mad’
-‘yanked into the painting’, a feeling of no escape.
STAGE DIRECTIONS “They are men at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the primary colours”
The layers of harsh colours reflect the male dominance.
The men clearly overpowering Stella and Blanche
“I bought this adorable little coloured paper lantern at a Chinese shop on Bourbon. Put it over the light bulb! Will you, please?
Blanche cannot stand vulnerability
The light is representative of her true self.
“You look fresh as a Daisy”
“One that’s been picked a few days”
Stella and Blanche
Blanche past her prime of being a Southern Belle
Time is slipping from her
STAGE DIRECTIONS “Stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh”
The first act of aggression
Foreshadows physical violence against women in the scene and throughout the play
“I cant stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or vulgar action”
Blanche cannot stand to see what she has become
Old traditional values stand in regards to politeness.
Refuses exposure
STAGE DIRECTIONS “They come together with low animal moans”
Zoomorphism
The romanticism of Stella and Stanley’s relationship
Raw connection.
“There’s so much-confusion in the world…Thank you for being so kind”
Ironic- Blanche has had a complete lack of kindness for Stella throughout the play so far.
Mitch has become a beacon of hope
Blanche proving that she has such a fragile mentality that she will find comfort in anyone.
STAGE DIRECTIONS “STANLEY hesitates, licking his lips. then suddenly he turns stealthily about and withdraws through the front door”
Unnerving and raw
Establishes Stanley as predatory
Hunting for prey
Quote to show Blanches loneliness?
“You left! I stayed and struggled!”
“You’re all I have in this world”
Clothing symbolism for Blanche
Often wearing white clothing to show her desperation for purity. Her clothes being costume shows loss of status.
Light symbolism for Blanche
Blanche constantly avoids the light so as to not expose her true self.
Symbolism of the name Blanche
Blanche means white, symbolic of her delicate persona. It is a juxtaposition of her real identity.
Symbolism of Blanche bathing
Constantly trying to erase her past. Link to her alleged prostitution.
Felicia Hardison Londre criticism
“She is an artist who dramatizes herself as if she were a stage character”
“Mitch as her enthralled audience”
Camille Saunders criticism
“Blanche shows very little weakness throughout the play, but rather is broken by her past”
“The only thing she succumbs to is her inescapable fate”
