Context Flashcards
William’s love life
Gay - uses Allan Gray as an omnipresent character to symbolise the homophobic nature of America in the 1940’s.
William’s sister
His sister is institutionalised - Blanche symbolises America’s lack of understanding towards mental health - scapegoat
Southern Gothic Movement
Characterised by rich, even grotesque imagination and an awareness of being part of a decaying culture.
Immigration
The US prided itself on opening arms to immigrants from all over the world including Poland but integration was never fully achieved - ‘cosmopolitan.’
New Orleans
Southern State legal system was influenced by the Napoleonic code.
Cultural melting pot - French district, black and white people lived alongside each other.
A ‘Streetcar’ (tram) went to an area called Desire, another to Cemeteries; there is also an avenue called Elysian Fields - referring to where souls of heroes and the virtuous went in Greek mythology.
Known as a free and easy sort of place with a lot of music (especially jazz) bars and gambling - including poker.
Southern States
The DuBois family wealth would probably have been built on slavery, abolished in the south in 1865.
After the Southern Confederates states lost the Civil war 1861-1865 the south became poor and families like the DuBois declined.
The decline of wealthy southern families was romanticised in literature and the cinema e.g. Gone with the Wind.
Blanches refined tastes included: vulgarity, chivalry and values of the old south.
Williams Troubles
In 1931 he had a nervous breakdown.
Had a life long fear of death, especially cancer.
Suffered from depression so he resorted to heavy drinking and drugs.
Difficult childhood - his parents had an unhappy marriage, father was an alcoholic which his mother resented as well as his extra marital affairs.
Williams parents
His father was a working class salesman.
His mother was a Southern Belle born to a higher class and well read.
Williams Childhood
He was bedridden for 2 years.
Grew reserved and vulnerable after he was ostracised in school.
Socio-economic
Explores a time of transition for the American south.
Shift from old money into modernity and diversity.
Blanche is representing the trouble of being stuck in the past - clashes with those with more progressive views in society.
Gender Roles
often considered a play that critiques the limitations that the post world war America imposed on itself.
Williams establishes conventional gender stereotypes and yet twists the notions of masculine and feminine energy using characters e.g. Blanche, Mitch
Race
Doesn’t address the glaring racism against African Americans and instead addresses the racism faced by recent European races e.g. Blanche and Stanley, though is this a question of Class?
