Scene 1 Flashcards
> non-conforming, idiosyncratic city
more poignant when Blanche is introduced -stark contrast to the personality of her surroundings
setting - “raffish charm”
> isn’t going to fit in with Blanche’s idealism
industrial
unkempt
“faded white stairs”
> expressionist device - reality is distorted
Greek mythology allusion - afterlife paradise
day of arrival - sky clashing with rest of setting
represents Blanche’s infiltration
“peculiarly tender blue”
“invests the scene with a kind of lyricism”
“Elysian fields”
“attenuates atmosphere of decay”
> verisimilitude
authentic atmosphere >embeds events with accurate surroundings
reflects self-sufficient mindset
multiple conversations of inhabitants
“the voices of the people on the street can be heard overlapping”
> signifies class, social status and occupation
costume = plastic theatre device
Stanley - “roughly dressed” in “blue denim work clothes”
> reflective of ‘Southern Belle’
upper socioeconomic class
distinct ostentatious values
privilege fading
doesn’t fit with changing society
Blanche - “fluffy bodice” “white suit” “necklace and earrings of pearl” “incongruous to this setting”
> foreshadows doom - too fragile for the harsh realities of the world
“her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light”
> allegorical version of Blanche’s life
illicit pursuit of sexual “desires” led to social death and expulsion >foreshadows fate - already sealed?
fate as certain as running of streetcars
“They told me to take a Streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called cemeteries.”
> alcohol issues
duplicity
conceal anything that undermines ‘pure’ persona
B+S similarity - some same flaws
“pours half a tumbler of whiskey and tosses it down.”
“I look around for some liquor!”
“no I - rarely touch it!”
> paroxysm of jumbled speech
audience feel her chaos and instability from beginning
constant diversions - maintain control others’ perception of her
anticipates scrutiny -result of insecurities
Blanche speaks with “feverish vivacity as if she feared for either of them to stop and think.”
“don’t you look at me Stella no no no not till later, not till I’ve bathed and rested! And turn that over-light off!”
> acute self-awareness
fear of judgement -projects onto Stella
“You see I still have that awful vanity about my looks even now that my looks are slipping”
> passion/craving that transcends reason
physical dependency -desire has control over her (similar to B+S)
“when he’s away for a week I nearly go wild!”
> symbolic of fading grandeur of Old South
clings to past and resents Stella for embracing change
romanticizing tragedy - characteristic of her broader approach to life
retreats into illusions and poetic language -defence against harshness of reality
Blanche’s rich, melodramatic imagery of death
“the long parade to the graveyard”
“the grim reaper had put up his tent on our doorstep”
> self-presenting as a martyr
deflecting guilt onto Stella - share the burden >Blanche’s inability to take responsibility
annoying characteristic - W’s craft
“I took the blows in my face and my body”
“where were you. In bed with your - Polack.”
> archetypal machismo
hegemonic masculinity
1940s housewife >women as commodities, at the mercy of his sexual desires
“animal joy”
“centre of his life has been pleasure with women”
“power and pride of a richly feathered male bird”
“gaudy seed-bearer”
“sexual classifications”
> small, shared space - claustrophobic
exacerbate tensions
apartment set
> AO3 - original title
Blanche drawn to what destroys her
Freudian perspective
“suggest a moth”
