Critical views

Question 1

Stella’s illusion and Salvation

Answer 1

Elia Kazan – Stella has found a sort of salvation with Stanley, but at the tremendous cost that she must ignore how unhappy his actions make her

Question 2

Desire and Blanche

Answer 2

Harold Bloom - Desire is the single most important theme of the play - even Blanche, who initially seems to represent purity, is tainted by desire

Question 3

Stella loves Stanley

Answer 3

Harold Bloom - Stella is genuinely in love with Stanley, “like many battered women”

Question 4

Speech, politeness and the South

Answer 4

Henry Popkin - Stanley’s “disrespectful” speech symbolises his freedom and vitality while Blanche’s “respectful” speech shows how she is rooted to the past

Question 5

Stanley’s levelling of Blanche

Answer 5

J.M. McGlinn – Stanley feels judged by Blanche, and his rape of her is his attempt to get her to admit that she is a sexual animal, like him

Question 6

Stella and Blanche’s Illusions

Answer 6

J.M. McGlinn – Blanche is not the only DuBois who lives in illusions: Stella is in an illusion too, that she is happy and free in her life with Stanley
Both Blanche and Stella’s illusions are done for the personal good at the sake of the communal good

Question 7

Aristotle’s take

Answer 7

John Gassner - Viewing the play in terms of Aristotelian tragedy means accepting that Stanley performed the “act of destruction” which Blanche should have performed herself
Psychopathology “is a substitute for fate” in directing actions within the play when compared to traditional drama

Question 8

Blanche and Homosexuality

Answer 8

John M. Clum – Blanche is a camp character who represents male homosexuality — she is not “straight” and is in closest proximity to the “degenerate” of the play

Question 9

The characters’ 3 types

Answer 9

Kierkegaard – An interpretation in the framework of Kierkegaard sees characters as existing within one of three stages: aesthetic (seeking constant short-term pleasure), ethical (working towards a greater good) or religious (working towards God).
In Streetcar, the aesthetic stage can be seen in Blanche and the ethical stage–albeit a misguided version–can be seen in Stanley; interestingly, the religious stage is nowhere to be found

Question 10

Card game

Answer 10

Leonardo Quirino – The card game is a symbol of fate and the way it can be manipulated

Question 11

Sex as equalising

Answer 11

Normand Berlin – Sex equalises all characters in the play, as they are all beholden to their sexual impulses

Question 12

The Baby

Answer 12

Albert Wertheim – Stella and Stanley’s baby represents the future — which is a Kowalski future, not a DuBois future, as shown by Blanche being removed and Stanley staying in the household, the ultimate victory

Question 13

Blanche and Southern Tradition

Answer 13

Elia Kazan (the director of the first stage productions and the film of Streetcar) – Blanche’s tragic flaw is that she adheres to the Southern tradition that she needs a man for completion — she can complete herself