Blanche Flashcards
Scene 1: she is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice
Daintily: shows how Blanche is very feminine as women are supposed to be viewed as fragile and small, gendered language.
White: white suggests purity, it is a sign of innocence and simplicity. we later learn that this is the complete opposite of Blanches character as she has quite a complex life, and brings complexity into the lives of Stanley and Stella.
Suit: a suit is usually worn by males who have wealth, or who are to do with business. This could suggest that Blanche has arrived in Elysian Fields for a purpose, and that she is there with an aim.
Scene 1: “Never, never, never in my worst dreams could I picture […] Only Mr Edgar Allen Poe!”
Never, never, never: repetition, emphasis on her certainty as she seems quite defensive about the subject. Has her guard up.
Worst dreams: nightmares, quite euphemistic as if she’s trying to indicate to something that she’s in fear of - foreboding of her later revelations
Edgar Allen Poe- shows her education levels and indicates to her class and her job as an English teacher, she tends to use this when she needs to impress someone such as how she’s trying to sweeten Stella up. Exophoric reference.
Scene one: “I stayed and struggled! You came to New Orleans and looked out for yourself”
Stayed and struggled: sibilance. Blanche has a victim complex, suggesting that her struggles were because of being left on her own, power trip to make Stella feel guilty. She wants the upper hand on Stella.
You, yourself: personal pronoun makes Stella feel responsible- Williams uses language here to show how manipulative Blanche can be especially towards Stella who she knows is below her. She makes Stella feel guilty.
Scene 1: “But you are the one that abandoned Belle Reve, not I. I stayed and fought for it, bled for it and almost died for it”
Abandoned: verb, suggests it was left alone and so was blanche. Dramatic language so adds to the idea that Blanche wants to make Stella feel responsible for what happened to belle reve to deflect the blame.
Fought, bled and died - violent imagery, commonly associated with war which could suggest a financial struggle that was endured and that this felt like a war. The use of the word death could also reflect how Blanche feels about the loss of the property, like she’s lost a part of her which is why she wanted to move away to be fresh
Scene 2: red satin robe “fresh […] and feeling like a brand new human being”
Red- linked to the idea of impurity, sin and promiscuity which contrasts with the pure white that she enters the scene 1 wearing. Could also be a link to alcoholism and red wine. The satin also gives a very rich feel to it, as it is a commonly associated material with wealth.
Fresh- associated with ideas of cleanliness, which could be her physical state but mentally she contrasts this - links to ideas about Blanches complexity
Brand new: felt like hot water washed all of her sins off, every time these come back she seems to bathe. Thinks she is washing the impurity away, it always comes back and she associated this with her physical cleanliness. Perhaps Williams did this to emphasise how the drama follows the characters and they can’t escape this
