Fantasy and Delusion

Question 1

‘Turn the over light off’/’merciless glare’

Answer 1

Light becomes a motif in the play for Blanche’s delusions - she refuses to be seen in the light as to conserve her old south fading beauty from the new world

Question 2

‘I was on the verge of-lunacy’

Answer 2

Blanche is well aware that her mental state is deteriorating however she does not say why she is like this - secrecy + mystery

Question 3

‘You haven’t said a word about my appearance’

Answer 3

Blanche is always conscious about the way she looks and seeks reassurance from everyone

Question 4

‘I’m freshly bathed…feeling like a brand new human being’

Answer 4

Bathing allows Blanche to wash away her troubles temporarily - she feel pure again

Question 5

‘That must’ve been what happened/ i don’t want no ifs, ands, or buts’

Answer 5

Stanley takes control over the conversation and is determined to know what happened while Blanche is vague and almost away with the fairies - she doesn’t quite have a grasp on reality

Question 6

‘If only my mind would function’
‘Shep Huntleigh…texas is literally spouting gold in his pockets’

Answer 6

This connotes that Blanche is almost ‘losing her mind’
The introduction of Shep Huntleigh seems suspicious as he seems almost too good to be true - he is a rich handsome man

Question 7

‘Myself for being such a lighter…most of my sisters friends go up north for the summer’

Answer 7

Blanche creates her own delusions from her imagination of what she thinks her reality should and will look like - blurring the lines between reality and delusion

Question 8

‘I haven’t informed him of my real age’ /‘I want to deceive him enough to make him want me’

Answer 8

Blanche again is using manipulation to create a reality that she wants - she is trying to appear attractive

Question 9

‘A girl alone…has got to keep a hold on her emotions’

Answer 9

Ironic - Blanche does not have a hold on her emotions - it was also frowned upon to be too hysteric

Question 10

‘It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something’

Answer 10

Love being symbolised by light - it shows her the reality of living - she has trauma from this which is why she hides away from the light

Question 11

‘Varsouviana’

Answer 11

Becomes a motif of Blanche’s past and Allan’s death

Question 12

‘Sometimes there’s god so quickly’

Answer 12

At this point there seems like there might be hope for Blanche but this is ruined by Stanley

Question 13

‘As if a child was frolicking in the tub’

Answer 13

Simile - she is oblivious to what is going on outside - bathing allows her to revert back to her purest self

Question 14

‘Killed her illusions’

Answer 14

Catalyst of her madness - this is ironic almost because it didn’t kill her illusions it rather made them worse

Question 15

‘The distant piano goes into a hectic breakdown’

Answer 15

Expressionistic technique - her imaginary world in falling about around her

Question 16

‘Blanche has a tight artificial smile on her drawn face’

Answer 16

Trying to pretend everything is okay - living in her imaginary world to escape reality

Question 17

‘His auntie knows candles aren’t safe, that candles burn out in little boys and girls eyes…and after that happens, electric light bulbs go on and you see too painly’

Answer 17

This is extremely morbid - her past experiences have made her realise that reality is not pleasant - ‘candles’ connotated with happiness - these have burnt out for Blanche

Question 18

‘The music is in her mind; she is drinking to escape it and the sense of disaster is closing in on her’

Answer 18

This is a very obvious description of her madness - it is getting obvious that she has descended into madness - her alcoholism has also peaked - the scenes also become shorter showing her descent into madness

Question 19

‘I don’t want realism/I’ll tell you what I want. Magic’

Answer 19

This is the first time Blanche has really been honest with Mitch about her delusions - she wants to escape reality

Question 20

‘I didn’t lie in my heart’

Answer 20

Blanche is a tragic hero - the audience can’t help but sympathise with her

Question 21

‘Improvising feverishly’

Answer 21

Blanche is making up her story as she goes along - she is not in her right state of mind

Question 22

‘There isn’t a goddamn thing but imagination/ oh!’

Answer 22

Stanley is calling out Blanche, taking back his control - Blanche’s responses are monosyllabic showing her loss of power

Question 23

‘Tearing it off the light bulb/ she cries out as if the lantern was herself’

Answer 23

Although Stanleyt has committed the ultimate act of violence on Blanche he will stop at nothing to hurt her - the lantern is an extension of herself and her delusions

Question 24

Context for fantasy and delusion

Answer 24

after war women were pushed back into more domestic roles meaning they had to be dependent on men once again
the decay of the south means blanche tries to cling on to this
elysian fields is a paradise for deceased heros

Question 25

What does the motif of bathing symbolise?

Answer 25

blanches delusional attempts at washing away her last
privacy where she can fantasise about what ought to be
stanley’s presence while she is bathing disintegrates her fantasy’s

Question 26

How does Williams use music?

Answer 26

blurs boundaries between interior and exterior
varsiuviana symvises Blanches inside and foreshadows her descent into insanity
blue piano is reminiscent of new south fixation on desire - explores how blanche is ultimately incompatible

Question 27

How is light used to symbolise delusion?

Answer 27

blanches denial and stanley embrace of light symbolises their inescapable fate
balcbhes connotation with white shows be fake innocence - blanche is french means to become pale
paper lantern exposed the inevitably of blanches madness as it can be ripped so easy

Question 28

What is stella delusion

Answer 28

she is trapped by the delusion her relation is healthy
one reason for her tolerance could be her genuine lover for stanley
or maybe she has realised she cannot survive without him - economically dependent

Question 29

What are the contexts for death and desire?

Answer 29

elysian fields - resting place of decades virtuous heroes - place of blanches metaphorical death but stanley’s sanctuary for desire
women gained their value in relationships with men whom they were reliant on
Belle Reve or beautiful dream suggest a racer made reflecting blanches desires for be future

Question 30

Allan Gray being a symbol of death

Answer 30

ostacizwtion of those who do not display hegemonic masculinity
his elimination from the play is rooted in in his outward defiance of social norms
his death symbolises the lack of porgrsssion even in the New South Wales

Question 31

3 elements of blanches metaphorical death

Answer 31

self fifklled entrapment- blanches sense of worth is informed by her southern belle roots
she exploits her privilege to emasculate stanley yet societies allegiance of his masculinity isolated her
stanley’s overpowering traits - his territorial brood is exposed in veeabke dominance
blanche is a threat to him
blanches defiance of norms - her desire to be sexually free is villified while stanley’s is encouraged

Question 32

masculine desire

Answer 32

stanley can easily exert his power as he understands how 1940: society works
when his machismo is challenged her has to physically reassert his masculinity through violence
expressionist techniques emphasise his animalistic desire