ASND: KEY Quotes + Analysis Flashcards
1
Q
“Cemeteries and get off at Elysian Fields”
A
- Symbolism of Elysian fields are where the heroes go in the underworld; ultimate paradise
- Elysian fields is the **resting place for lost souls + for heroic virtuous souls in Greek mythology **
- Foreshadows Blanche’s inability to survive while contending with patriarchy and suggests ambiguous afterlife for her in its simultaneous utopian diversity and seedy poverty, a mix which leaves Blanche feeling out of place in her present setting, clinging on to the past
- Reference to Cemeteries illustrates the losses she has endured
2
Q
“Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light…her white clothes, that suggests a moth” “daintily dressed in a white suit”
A
- **Moth-like **- if moths go too close to the light, they get burnt
- Blanche avoids the strong light because it will expose her and he will see her for who she truly is
- Light symbolises the reality of Blanche’s past. She is troubled by the ghosts of what she has lost
- In Scene Six, Blanche tells Mitch that being in love with her husband, Allan Grey, was like having the world bare in bright light; bright light can represent Blanche’s youthful sexual innocence, while dim light represents her sexual experience and cynicism
- Blanche’s failure to accept light means that her awareness of reality is diminishing
- Stanley “seizes and tears it off” it is made evident that **Blanche’s representational ‘death’ or defeat **as a tragic character has taken place the stage directions read ‘cries out as if the lantern was herself’; paper lantern is a central plastic theatre device prompting the audience to understand Blanche’s frantic evasion of the truth that causes her ensuing irrationality
3
Q
“Soaking in a hot tube to quiet her nerves”
A
- Blanche’s repetitive baths are used by Williams (expressionism) to convey her fragile mental state + her delusional attempts to wash away her sins
- Still remains in a state of purgatory (alt interpretation - antagonist?)
AO4: Stanley is seen under the shower as well after he beats Stella which furthers this idea of water cleansing sins - Blanche’s constant need to wash to cleanse herself of her sins is akin to Lady Macbeth’s “Out, damned spot!” and “‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?”
- Both Williams and Shakespeare use water to symbolise the need to cleanse past sins, where emerging from the water symbolises a new birth and forgiveness of past sins
4
Q
“her head falls on her arms”
A
- Williams uses plastic theatre to create pity for her as she endures the guilt of causing her husband’s death
- Use of the polka music which always turns on with the mention of her husband - exemplify how Blanche is **unable to escape from her past + thus cannot change or break free **
- Polka music is an aural illustration of her late husband which is also used to show her guilt she has for ending Allen’s life + breaking her own innocence
- “After the death of Allan – intimacies with strangers was all I seemed able to fill my empty heart with…” - desire consumed Blanche after Allan’s death.
5
Q
“Heaves the meat package at her”
“Stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on her thigh”
A
- Stanley’s hyper-masculnity + sexual dominace over Stella - why her sexual nature is tolerated she is the “passive receiver”
6
Q
“Animal joy in his being is implicit in all his movements and attitudes” - Williams’ stage direction”
A
- Reflects Stanley’s animalisitc lexicon + primal masculine sexuality + force
7
Q
“Thank you for being so kind! I need kindness now.”
A
- Exposing Blanche’s vunerability - sees Mitch as a vessel of hope + he gives her a sense of comfort
- Reliance on other’s kindness - Blanche latches onto small things to escape from her realtiy - lives in extreme denial
7
Q
“It isn’t enough to be soft. You’ve got to be soft and attractive. And I–I’m fading now! I don’t know how much longer I can turn the trick”
A
- Williams alludes to the ‘softness’ forced upon women at the time - Blanche feeds into this characteristic
- Blance’s lack of self-sufficiency means she has to put on an illusion to get help + feel desire from men - illusion of sexuality
7
Q
[BLANCHE is singing in the bathroom a saccharine popular ballad which is used contrapuntually with STANLEY’S speech]
A
- Blanche’s singing occurs as the truth is revealed - dramtic irony shows how unaware she is of her situation + her flaws being exposed publicy
- Situational irony is used as she sings of love under illusions - her illusions have now been shattered
8
Q
A
9
Q
“I don’t want realism, I want magic”
A
- Mitch violently tears the lantern of the light - symbolic of Blanche being exposed
- Blanche’s desire for magic illustrates the harsh cruelty of her world + how men view promiscuity in women
10
Q
“Tiger - tiger! Drop it! We’ve had this date with each other from the beginning”
A
- Complete domination of Blanche to Stanley - takes pleasure in demeaning her + exerting control over her
- Stanley’s **vulgur nature + animalistic **behaviours are reinforced “tiger” - Blance cannot escape in any illusions or alcohol anymore
- Blanche uses a** ‘bootle -smashing’** object as her last defence - a **phallic obejct **- Stanley’s phallus is the last weapon of his offense
- Stanley’s rape is demonstrative of the dominance of patriarchy which is inescapable
11
Q
“This game is a seven card stud”
A
- Closes the play
- Poker acts as a symbol of the deception + the bluffing that has happened in the household
- Evokes pathos, as it ends the play - underlines the pathos of Blanche’s fate, by the very unconcern they show
12
Q
“Floros paro los muertos”
A
- Appeared when she left Belle Reve, returning.
- Death of her character, who she thought it was, now its official
- A physical and visual reminder of death, it accompanies her harrowing incoherent description of the Belle Reve deaths
- The Mexican is a symbolic expressionist figure
13
Q
“Deliberate cruelty is not forgivable. it is the one thing of which I have never been guilty”
A
- Redeems her character because it shows that despite Blanche’s lies throughout the play, she never intentionally sets out to hurt other people
- Stanley in contrasts sets out to hurt people intentionally
- A climatic scene in which Blanche is presented as a **defenceless victim + encourages us to sympathise** with her
