A Streetcar Named Desire

Question 1

Author

Answer 1

Tennessee Williams

Question 2

Published

Answer 2

1947

Question 3

Themes

Answer 3

• Sexual Desire
• Femininity
• Masculinity
• Fantasy vs Reality

Question 4

Where does it take place?

Answer 4

Elysian Fields, New Orleans

Question 5

Where does Blanche and Stella come from?

Answer 5

Belle Reve in Laurell

Question 6

Sexual desire

Answer 6

• All characters are driven by sexual desire
• Blanches perception of herself is an object of Male sexual desire
• She clings to her sexuality more and more
• Stanley’s masculinity and his sexuality are extremely interconnected
• he asserts himself aggressively over Stella and Blanche
• Stella has a traditional, domestic, feminine sexuality

Question 7

Fantasy vs Reality

Answer 7

• Thin line between both
• Blanche’s mental descent throughout the play.
• She chooses to perceive how she wants to see it
  Example: The doctor is old, she sees him as a handsome gentlemen

Question 8

Masculinity

Answer 8

• Stanley is a symbol of authority
• He is animalistic
• He asserts himself negatively over Blanche and Stella
• Working man
• sex appeal

Question 9

Femininity

Answer 9

• Blanche and Stella demonstrate two different types of femininity in the play, yet both find themselves dependent on men.
• Southern belle persona = Blanche
• Womanliness = Stella