context Flashcards
What is the context about william’s sister Rose?
> struggling with mental illness- underwent a lobotomy- left her institutionalised for the rest of her life.
What is the context about william’s father?
> Williams’ father was an abusive alcoholic, similar to Stanley Kowalski. His mother, much like Blanche, was a faded Southern belle who struggled with the harsh realities of life.
What is context about williams?
Williams battled depression and alcoholism and as a homosexual, he grappled with societal repression. This struggle is evident in Allan whose suicide reflects Williams’ own anxieties about acceptance. Themes of hidden desire and shame permeate the play.
What is the socio-political context?
> This play is set in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Civil war led to the collapse of the Southern aristocracy, as slavery was abolished and the plantation economy crumbled. Belle Reve represents this lost Southern world.
The post-war South saw an economic shift, with industrialization and urbanization replacing the old plantation system. Stanley represents this modern, industrial world—practical, aggressive, and dominant.
What is the significance of New Orleans?
> The play’s setting—New Orleans—is a diverse, multicultural city where class and ethnicity mix freely, unlike the rigid hierarchies of the antebellum South.
The romanticised mythology of the Old South remained a potent living force.
Stanley represents the working class people who feel they can achieve
whatever they desire through hard work, perseverance, and individualism
What is plastic theatre?
It is hence symbolic, non-realist, metaphorical theatre that uses objects, musical underscoring, costumes, props, and theatrical space to create an experience for the audience that suggests poetic truths.
What is the importance of plastic theatre?
It is hence symbolic, non-realist, metaphorical theatre that uses objects, musical underscoring, costumes, props, and theatrical space to create an experience for the audience that suggests poetic truths.
What is the significance of the Varsouviana Polka
reminds her of her husband, and signifies Blanche’s growing insanity.
What is the significance of the blue piano?
cyclical nature of the play, it begins and ends with the same background music
What is the significance of the locomotives?
locomotives represent Stanley, who brings Blanche’s downfall by unmasking her truth. The “blinding lightˮ from the oncoming locomotive floods Mitch and Blanche with light - inescapability of truth.
What is the significance of the light?
Truth, jungle cries - enhance the sense of madness of Blanche and these effects combined heighten Blanche’s final breakdown
What is the significance of the costumes?
adds to her incongruity, begins the façade of Blancheʼs Southern values.
Why is Blanche forced to conceal her sexual history
because the Southern ideal of femininity does not condone indulging in one’s sexual desires.
Who does Stanley’s violent, aggressive nature directly challenge?
Stanley’s violent, aggressive nature directly challenges Blanche’s fragile persona, and his disdain for her air of superiority and refinement heightens her eventual collapse - represents the destruction of the outdated Southern idea
No matter how hard she tries to conceal her age and propagate the ideal image of feminine beauty what happens and what does it show?
> the other characters see through her deception - the destructive effect of the importance placed on beauty and youth by Southern society.
What contributes to her tragic end?
Her inability to adapt to this new reality, her reliance on fantasy and illusion, and her refusal to confront the truth about her past ultimately contribute to her tragic end
What does blanche act as a symbol for?
Blanche, as a representative symbol of the Old South, therefore finds herself not only dispossessed of her estate but dislocated ideologically from the contemporary values she encounters in New Orleans
Provide a marxist reading for streetcar named desire?
According to Marxists , the ruling class attempt to consolidate their dominance over others in society through the use of ‘consent and coercion’. For Blanche, this means maintaining and promoting a set of values predicated on the sensibilities of a largely pre-industrial, paternalistic society that esteemed the credibility of the ‘belle’
Why is the surrendering of Blanche’s legal papers to Stanley significant?
> By surrendering the legal papers to Stanley, Blanche becomes a willing agent in the inevitable shift of power from the once dominant ideology of the landed gentry to that of an ascendant urbanised proletariat.
What is Stanley and Blanche’s conflict a microcosm for?
Their conflict is a microcosm of a larger, historical struggle between the remnants of feudalism and the new industrial capitalism.
What is the significance of Blanche attempts to persuade Mitch to embrace the old south ideology ?
What is the significance of Blanche attempts to persuade Mitch to embrace the old south ideology the Old South in its conceit of a demure femininity and chivalric masculinity.
What is blanche’s defence agaisnt the outside opinions of her?
Blanche’s mask of gentility is a necessary defence against the outside world’s opinions of her
What does stanley embody?
Stanley, as embodying working-class masculinity, represents a more aggressive, domineering version of manhood. His behaviour towards Blanche, particularly his violent outbursts, reflects the era’s view of men as the dominant figures in relationships, both physically and emotionally
What does stanley’s act of rape potray?
Stanley’s eventual rape of Blanche is a brutal manifestation of his assertion of power over her, revealing how societal norms around gender often resulted in women’s subjugation.
What did some men believe his perogative was?
Violence in marriage was often overlooked,and many believed it was a man’s prerogative to “discipline” his wife if she didn’t adhere to expectations. Legal protections for women in domestic settings were minimal.
Where does blanche’s desire branch from?
Blanche, desire is tied to her need for escape from the painful realities of her past. She desires affection and validation, but these desires are also a mask to escape the trauma of her failed marriage, the loss of her family estate, and the societal judgment she faces
What is stanley’s desire branched from?
Stanley’s desire is about power and control. His sexual desires are intricately tied to his need to dominate both his wife, Stella, and his sister-in-law, Blanche. For Stanley, sex and violence are intertwined, and his primal desire to possess and control is starkly shown in his violent outbursts.
How does stella’s desire lead to?
Stella’s desire for physical intimacy with Stanley also underscores her emotional and sexual attachment to him. Her conflict is rooted in her divided loyalty between her husband, whom she desires, and her sister, who needs her support.
What is stanley’s masculinity linked to?
Stanley’s masculinity is directly linked to his physical strength, his sexual control over Stella, and his ability to assert authority in his home
How does Blanche seek power?
Blanche, in contrast, seeks power through manipulation, illusion, and control over her image - she attempts to maintain a sense of superiority by projecting an air of gentility and charm.
How does Stanley exert power in comparison to Blanche?
stanley, as a working-class man, holds power through his physicality and assertiveness, while Blanche, a woman from a once-wealthy family, is deprived of traditional social power due to her financial ruin and tarnished reputation
