Context Flashcards
Who was Williams’ mother?
- She was a beautiful, sexually alluring southern belle
- Lived on the verge of hysteria
- Later admitted to a psychiatric ward
- His mother’s personality is reflected in Blanche Dubois
Who is Stanley based off?
Williams’ father, who was a forceful, aggressive and short tempered man
Who was Williams’ sister
had a nervous breakdown and suffered from schizophrenia
spent much of her life in a sanatorium and was lobotomised - something that williams never recovered from
How did the Great Depression affect the Old South?
accelerated the end of the ‘old south’ as much of it’s wealth was held up in property and landed wealth - the value of land severely depreciated during this period
Old south vs New america
encapsulates the battle between the old and new america which emerged after ww2
very different in terms of values and ideals
the south was seen as very chivalrous, sophisticated and romantic but also heavily segregated in terms of race, class and its foundations of wealth often built on slavery
the new america was more racially diverse, accepting, cosmopolitan and less hierarchal, however, it was seen as much more violent, with no place for etiquette and morals
The southern belle
born out of the antebellum period in the southern states of america before the civil war
based on ideas of keeping upper class ideas of english class values originally from victorian morality
young women from well respected families and were expected to marry reputable men
they were to become ladies of society that were devoted to their family and community
the southern belle archetype is characterised by southern hospitality, which comprised of beauty and a flirtatious yet innocent demeanour
could only exist in a patriarchal society, as their dependency on men was integral to their character
in turn, women who could not achieve marriage, a family or maintain their status in a wealthy home, would suffer gravely
Machismo
the sense of being manly and self reliant, the concept associated with a ‘strong sense of masculine pride’
one key aspect of machismo’s association to violence is its influence in a man’s behaviour towards proving his strength
stanley kowalski is one of literatures most true depictions of machismo
Homosexuality
for most of williams’ life it was illegal in america
tolerated in some areas on new orleans and florida
introduces the theme in the play in the character of blanche’s husband, but didn’t want his own sexual orientation to define him
New Orleans
when williams discovered new orleans, he wrote in his memoirs that he had “found a home, a place like no other in the american south”
a stage of drama, filled with an exciting symphony of sounds and a ‘spirit of life’ which intrigued him
he enjoyed the loud and coarse mannerisms of the people, and found symbolism in the elements in which the city was built
Elysian Fields
land of the dead in greek mythology where heroes went to die
ironic - blanche is not a hero
he street name is both a literal street in new orleans and a symbolic resting place - foreshadows blanche’s looming fate.
Social darwinism
- Idea of survival of the fittest and that humans evolved from apes
- Social Darwinism at its most extreme = Nazism
- Set following WW2 and impact is arguably evident in Stanley
Cultural identity
- When foreigners (eg. Poles) first arrived in america, they were a minority and were often percieved as lesser
- However, after fighting for america in WW2, they began to establish more of an american identity
