Blanche 2 Flashcards
‘Daintly dressed in white’
Emphasises her desire to appear innocent and pristine contrasting sharply with harsh reality of surroundings.
‘Delicate beauty must avoid strong light’
Signifies Blanche is fragile and vulnerable and can’t withstand exposure to reality or others seeing her reality.
‘They told me to take a streetcar to desire’
Metaphor which foreshadows her intense desire will ultimately lead to her destruction.
‘I need kindness’
Highlights her reliance on others to uphold her fragile self especially when confronted with Stanley’s brutality.
‘Clutching the broken top’ Analysis
Layered imagery woman last weapon of offence is a phallic object whilst Stanley uses phallus sex.
Context William’s life
Reflective of William’s sister Rose who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, muse for fragile character Laura Wingfield in ‘The Glass Meringue’
Blanche’s name meaning
White wood
What is the irony of white wood?
Ironic as white means pure however she is not pure
Wood is normally hard and durable but Blanche is characterised as fragile and unstable.
Trunk what does Blanche say?
‘Everything I own is in there’
What does the Trunk foreshadow?
Foreshadows blunt and brutal revelation of the past.
Stanley’s treatment of the trunk is reflective of violence he treats her with later.
How does Stanley treat the trunk?
‘Pulls’
‘Hurls’
‘Jerks it open’
What would a female critic argue about the trunk?
Trunk represents how trapped Blanche is by the past.
Motifs for Blanche
Baths
Paper lantern
What does the bath represent?
A sense of peace through cleansing.
Bath quotes
‘I take hot baths for my nerves’
‘Feeling like a brand new woman’
Context of bathing
Both Williams and Shakespeare use water to symbolise need to cleanse past sins.
Christian baptism
What is the Paper lantern used as?
Used as central plastic theatre prompting audience to understand Blanche’s frantic evasion of truth.
What does Mitch do to the paper lantern?
‘seizes and tears it off’
‘Blanche as a threat to Stanley’s sense of masculinity’ Who said this?
Kazan
What would a feminist say?
‘Blanche represents Old modes of womanhood.’
‘Blanche behaviour is steeped in a traumatic past’ Who said this?
Physcoanalytic
What would a physcoanalytic argue Blanche uses?
Death drive
